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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450049">Coded</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyAnhedoniac/pseuds/BubblyAnhedoniac'>BubblyAnhedoniac</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Overwatch (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Death, Drama, Drama &amp; Romance, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Sex, F/F, Implied/Referenced Torture, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Torture, Slow Burn, Torture</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:28:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>91,508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450049</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyAnhedoniac/pseuds/BubblyAnhedoniac</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the small taste of heroism Hana Song, more popularly known as D.va, is faced with the reality and aftermath of Overwatch's downfall. As the newest member of an illegal vigilante organization, Hana's life has become not only wayward but lonely. Despite surrounded by allies, teammates, and friends Hana finds herself in self inflicted isolation. To hide in her shell would keep her heart from breaking again.<br/>Though a certain shadowy individual with a particular handy skillset somehow finds a way to hack through Hana's firewall.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sombra | Olivia Colomar/Hana "D.Va" Song</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>88</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>136</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Kiddo.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The soft moonlight bounced and swayed on the reflection of the marble black glass-like ocean. The wind gentle and cool, almost silent. Soft distant chirping of early morning birds. Soothing and calming. The sand soft and fine, the low tide slowly crawling up the beach, before exhaling, and leaving the sand underneath a shade darker. The sea calmly breathing, slowly and rhythmically expanding and shrinking. Yet the wide expanse in the horizon otherwise still.</p><p>Until a break on the surface. A dark solid reflective surface rising from the water. First an empty cockpit, red and luminescent, the color bleeding out, spreading across the gentle rippling surface til more of the water breaks. Revealing wide metallic, reinforced shoulders, that carry broad steel arms, ending with shifting machine gun barrels longer than the average home.</p><p>The red lights on it's torso infecting the very night sky, gentle dark blue warping to dark red. A siren in the distance blaring, voices screaming, calling, crying. Words, slowly coming to focus. No- not words, but a name. "Hana…" the gwishin begins to shift, water erupting up and out from it's steps that roll into ramping waves. "Hana-" frantic labored breathing, panicked and shallow, "Hana!"</p><p>Hana shoots up from bed. Her hair falling over her face, the multiple stuffed animals around her shifting as does her blanket. A pillow shaped as her iconic rabbit symbol softly falling onto the floor. Hana herself breathing heavily, having woken up in a cold sweat. Her breathing quickly worsening as her breaths become more shallow.</p><p>"Oh Hana…" A familiar presence moving onto the bed. Slender but warm arms wrapping around her, pulling her into a reassuring hug. "Just follow my breaths, in," two audible exhales filled the room, "out… in…" The breathing exercise had continued for a few minutes until Hana's panic died down. Finally letting her tired eyes open.</p><p>Her view first obscured by her own hair, a hand not her own pushing it away from her face. Hana attempted to shift positions, only to realize her own arms were wrapped around her savior, her hands gripped onto their shirt, knuckled white. "There you go, love. Better now?" The voice bright and cheery, yet currently soft and soothing.</p><p>Hana blinked, her eyes moving up to meet concerned deep chestnut brown eyes. A second passed before Hana's cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment, quickly letting go and pulling away. Her eyes darting away, focusing instead on the pink of her sheets. "Yeah- yeah I'm fine Lena."</p><p>Lena's eyebrow would quirk, but her smile not faltering, "good," her hand fell onto Hana's shoulder, "you don't have to be embarrassed, love. It happens to the best of us." Hana's eyes shifted from her sheets to the old and dirt stained sneakers, attached to long criss crossed jean clad legs of the one and only Tracer. Though to Hana she was Lena, her closest friend, and roommate.</p><p>Hana's brows furrowed, inadvertently giving Lena's shoes a death stare. She hated being needy, needing help for a stupid nightmare that shouldn't get to her like this. She was D.va, best StarCraft player in the world, internet icon, and MEKA pilot. She needed to be better than this, at the very least more capable. "Yeah-..." Hana would take another deep breath before looking up at Lena, "uhm, thanks."</p><p>Lena's smile would widen. Pulling back to stand up from Hana's bed. Her hair as messy and unkempt as always. Wearing a simple but stained white t-shirt, "don't mention it." She'd raise her arm so that she could check her non existent watch, "welp it's almost four, you should probably get up. You said you wanted to get some work done today, didn't'cha?"</p><p>A small chuckle would escape Hana's lips, which only made Lena beam. "Yeah I did," Hana would stretch, letting out a small squeal before pushing her blanket to the side, an accusatory finger rising to point at Lena "oh and if you tell anybody about what you saw I'll-"</p><p>"You'll what?" Lena bit back playfully, "tell them about I had to cradle little baby D.v-" a pink pillow smacked Lena in the face. A bubbly giggle escaping her as she kicked the pillow away after it had fallen to her feet, "hey!"</p><p>Hana grinned, as she held another pillow ready to throw, a pink flush on her cheeks that matched the soft pinks and blues of her pajamas. "Don't test me Lena."</p><p>Lena would let out a snort that blew through to another giggle, "fine, fine, you win alright?" She leaned forward to grab her chronal accelerator from beside Hana's bed. The gentle whirring not registering in Hana's ears until now. Lena pulled it on before stepping towards the door. Grabbing the doorknob before pausing.</p><p>Lena turned her head back to look at Hana over her shoulder, eyebrows once again knit in concern, "just let me know if you need anything, okay love?."</p><p>Hana's eyes would shift to the wall. <em>Don't pity me</em>, "yeah, I will." Hana flashed a small smirk. To which Lena replied with a grin and a nod before leaving. The door gently clicking shut would make evident how quiet the room seemed without her roommate.</p><p>She looked up and around the room, most of the walls painted a soft blue that slowly chipped away, the floor adorned with dirty tiles that were mostly covered by mismatched rugs. Neither Hana nor Lena were really big fans of cold floors. The ceiling fan would rock due to being uneven, the chains swinging back and forth.</p><p>Hana usually ignored it, it fell to background noise, as well as the soft humming of her desktop. Not but a few steps away from her bed. It wasn't her best equipment, it only had two monitors and she really needed to upgrade the graphics card, but it worked, and not only let her stream, but also keep tabs on Talon activity.</p><p>She had been having trouble sleeping lately- well… she always seemed to be having trouble sleeping, but recently she had been using that time scouring for any information she could get on what the enemy's next move was. Thankfully she had acquired a new friend in the last few weeks who apparently was really good at hacking for intel. She'd have to sign on later to have a game or two with them once she got important things out of the way.</p><p>Hana shifted to let her feet land on the warm rug, standing up from her bed while reaching out to her simple night stand to grab her phone. She checked the time, 15:48. She noticed notifications pop up, news articles, messages, overnight stream alerts. All of which either pertaining to her, Talon, or Overwatch. Which with the latter two in the pool of information every time she woke up, wasn't the most positive.</p><p>Hana let out a small growl, she was tired of reading these every day, but she had to. She had to keep tabs on everything, otherwise things would slip under her, she couldn't let that happen. Though, she did despise it, so she locked her phone, placed it back on her night stand and began to get ready for the day.</p><p>She discarded her pajamas, taking a mental note to wash them later. She adorned herself with high waisted black shorts, white crop top with bunny icon centered just below the neck line, black high tops and a pink varsity jacket with white sleeves. Smirking at herself in the full size mirror that was propped up against the one wall in the room that was painted yellow instead of blue. Her attention would stop on the bags under her eyes, to which she groaned at. She'd have to put on some make up to hide how tired she felt.</p><p>Once ready she moved to the same door that Lena had left through. The door that wasn't made for this doorway, the was door painted an off green. Hana scoffed, remembering when they pulled it through the hallways just so Lena and Hana could have some privacy. The smirk on her face slowly melting into a small frown.</p><p>They had stayed at this hide out longer than they had in the rest, she hadn't bothered to remember the name of the city they were a few kilometers away from. Last she remembered they were somewhere in germany, they hadn't gone out anywhere interesting anyway. Even the few times Hana did leave the hideout, they left to a local food market. In ridiculous disguises Jack had enforced on them. Who goes out in the summer in a parka, scarf, and sunglasses?</p><p>It had been quiet for the six of them, they had been told to take it easy and remain on stand by for a while, the orders of a well meaning Gorilla- scientist. And although Hana was more than comfortable with not going outside, she still felt restless. Restless because she could be out there, helping, protecting, making sure Talon wouldn't sink it's… talons into anything or anyone. D.va didn't do breaks, not when there were innocents in danger.</p><p>But instead she found herself in the small garage, her high tops gently squeaking against the concrete. The very same concrete had nuts, bolts, and nails scattered out. She'd kick a few out of the way by accident. Hana sighed, she definitely needed to clean this place up. Her attention then rolled up to her MEKA, tall and center amongst the scattered metal and tables laden with tools.</p><p>Hana stepped closer, reaching out her hand, her fingers gently placed onto it's cold metal. The pink and blue paint job was old, her index finger sliding across one of many scratches. Dents, dirt, and reinforced metal adorned most of the once bright and beautiful rabbit-like MEKA, but Hana could only smile. Many memories, good and bad, followed the machine that had protected not only her, but her friends and allies, as well as the many innocent lives she was proud to have helped.</p><p>It was battle worn, battered and beaten, but Hana was proud of every cut and bruise they both endured. Her hand instinctively moving to rub her shoulder. The scars on her MEKA also helped with not letting Hana feel alone… She stared at the machine for a couple more minutes before turning to her tools, grabbing a wrench and climbing up to put some more work into it. She had been reinforcing, upgrading, tinkering and making it battle ready for the day that they'd be called out again.</p><p>While Hana sat perched on top of her MEKA, a knock reverberated through the garage, which made her snap out of her focused trance, her head shooting over to see a pink shock of short hair as well as a large arm propped against the doorway.</p><p>"You work on machine every day, <em>zaika</em>," Zarya's smirk tugged on her lips, an eyebrow quirking expectantly, "you have strong will. But maybe take break sometime?" Crossing her arms as she then leaned against the door frame.</p><p>Hana shot a brief smirk back before turning her attention to her MEKA, her eyes falling onto her hands for a moment. Her fingers adorned with many scabs from cuts and burns, a couple bandaids wrapped around bloodier incidents. "Breaks are for babies Zar, I can't be a baby if someone needs me," Hana's hands would begin working again, biting down the pain as the skin on the end of her finger was pinched.</p><p>"Hmm," Zarya thought for a moment, her brain trying to find not only the correct words, but actively translating a few of them in her head, "<em>zaika</em>, even the strongest men and women take break. The strongest are still but human."</p><p>Hana snorted, "tell that to Zenyatta." She'd turn to shoot another wry glance at Zarya.</p><p>The pink haired woman's eyebrow rose, her lips pursing in mild annoyance, "yes, but even Omnic require time to… recharge?" Zarya sighed before stepping into the garage, her eyes down to the concrete, making sure not to step on any of the stray bolts, "you know what I am trying to say, <em>zaika</em>, taking break does not mean you are weak."</p><p>Hana paused for a moment, her eyes narrowing, a boiling frustration bubbling from her gut. "Who said I was weak?" Hana turned to Zarya, a fake smirk and quirked eyebrow, barely hiding the snake rattle of underlying anger.</p><p>Zarya would look up to meet Hana's gaze. Never faltering, but the tension not unnoticed, "Hana. You are very strong girl." Zarya spoke with conviction and a steady iron ferocity, "but working til exhaustion will only fire the gun into your foot."</p><p>The brunette paused for a moment, the anger that quickly swelled, now steadily pushed down, "fine, fine you're right Zar." Hana lifted her arms up, to express clearly that she was done working, extending out her legs to slide down from the top of the MEKA, landing cleanly on her feet. "Oh, and it's 'shooting yourself in the foot,' Zar," she mentioned while tossing the wrench onto a table, taking a paper towel to wipe off the grease from her hands.</p><p>Zarya let out a chuckle, "ah but you still understood." She'd reach out to pat a heavy hand on Hana's shoulder, which only made the Brunette wince from the sudden weight, "and that is what matters, <em>zaika</em>."</p><p>Hana's eyes moved up to match Zarya's. The brunette's hand lifting to pat the arm on her shoulder, god it feels like a log, gently pushing it off her, "I guess so," Hana walked around, making her way out the door, "but- thanks Zar." Hana stopped just before leaving, placing a hand on the doorway. Her mouth opening, but the words never tumbling out.</p><p>She instead looked down the hall, her eyes drifting from one of the cracked tiles to the tattered ceiling. Then looked back to see Zarya's attention elsewhere, to the tables, picking up a drill and inspecting it. Hana giggled to herself at the sight. Such a powerful woman, for a moment caught in a moment of almost child like curiosity, for once easily distracted and off guard.</p><p>She then realized she must be looking much in the same way herself. Though the difference was that Hana probably did look like a kid. She sighed as her fingers tapped on the doorway. She pushed off to make her way back to her room. Her hand anxiously rubbing her pant leg.</p><p> </p><p><em>Breaks are for babies</em>.</p><p> </p><p>She pushed into her room, closing the door behind her before power walking the remaining distance to her night stand. She picked up her phone but hesitated. She really despised reading news. Even back before Overwatch's downfall, hell even before she even joined Overwatch, there was always articles upon articles trying to disclose her personal information, or doing their best to label her as a fraud.</p><p>Though now it was easier to get the public to agree… Once her phone was unlocked she scrolled past notification after notification. Article after article all related to Overwatch, most of which were openly berating. Hana bit her lip as she skimmed past them, the anger and frustration boiling in her gut.</p><p>"Overwatch: Evil?"</p><p>"The awful truth behind Overwatch"</p><p>"Heroes or Villains?"</p><p>"Public Traitors."</p><p>She growled out into a yell, and chucked her phone at the wall, which slammed off the paint and fell to her bed.</p><p>"<em>Ssi-bal</em>!" She cursed, her shoulders tightening up, her nails digging into her palms. What a bunch of miserable awful pieces of sh-</p><p>"Hana dear?" Her eyes snapped to the door. A pink flush building in her cheeks. <em>Crap</em>.</p><p>Hana smoothed down her jacket, and quickly fixed her bangs, "yeah Angie?" She made her way to the door, opening it just enough to peek through.</p><p>Angela a.k.a. Mercy had been right outside Hana's door her hand retracting from the door knob, "oh- uhm, Hana." The blond instead held her arms awkwardly in front of her chest. "I heard you screaming."</p><p>The concern in Angela's azure eyes gave Hana some hesitation, but she quickly recovered. A non chalant smirk instinctively tugging at her lips, her eyes darting to the floor for a moment before looking back up to Angela, a practiced behavior, smooth, choreographed. "Yeah Angie, I'm sorry I was playing a match and it got to me."</p><p>Angela though, was not like her stream viewership, not like the people who write those articles, and especially not like the masses who hung on every last one of those words. Angela instead quirked an eyebrow, "<em>liebling</em>, do not use your mask with me."</p><p>Hana's eyes widened. <em>Damn</em>. She brought her hand up suddenly coughing into her fist, "-Hm, Ahem. What do you mean?" The brunette slowly started backing back into her room, "mask? What?" She cringed at herself, awkwardly ducking behind the door.</p><p>"Hana-," the door clicked shut before Angela could finish- "Hana the walls here are thin." Angela's voice still clear enough through the freshly installed door. <em>Damn</em>.</p><p>"Alright fine, I'll… talk to you about it later alright?" Hana relinquished, her eyes on the floor, the same pink flush of embarrassment on her face, "just- just give me some time alright?"</p><p>"<em>Liebling</em>, I know there's not going to be a later." Hana watched the floor for what seemed like forever, hoping that Angela would somehow disappear, "Hana," she didn't, "if you're not going to talk to me, at least find someone that you can talk to."</p><p>Hana sighed, moving over to her desk, slipping into her chair, her hand dangling down to click the power button in, "yeah Angie, I will. Promise." She looked over to the door.</p><p>"...Okay, thank you <em>liebling</em>." After a brief awkward pause the sound of Angela's heels clicking down the hall le. Hana exhale and lean back in her chair.</p><p>Hana stared up at the ceiling for a while. <em>Talk to someone, huh</em>? The thought sounded nice, it really did, but she hated how everyone talked to her. She knew they meant well and she genuinely was thankful, but they treated her like a kid. She groaned as she leaned forward and brought her attention to her computer, she was done with thinking about this for now.</p><p>Her desktop booted up pretty quickly and she was signing into her game. It brought a genuine smile to her face, it was nice, she was good at this. This was her stomping grounds, her home turf, no matter where she was or what time.</p><p>She was just about to start a game when she received a private message. A sudden panic filled her gut, had her smurf gotten leaked?</p><p>Her eyes fell on the username and she sighed with relief.</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: Heya friend, still kicking?</p><p>Her smile crept back up, her fingers quickly finding the keys.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: I'll never stop kicking your ass, thanks for asking.</p><p>Hana bit her lip and quirked an eyebrow. Though the response came quickly</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: I can kick your ass any day.</p><p>An eyebrow would perk up, a knowing grin.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: The same way you got that info for me the other night?</p><p>Hana's eyes narrowing with a mischievous glint as she stared at the in game message box. Completely forgetting about wanting to get into a match</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: It's an art. No one hacks like I do.</p><p>The brunette rolled her eyes</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: I'm sure.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: On another note, do you have any more info? I can pay.</p><p>And pay she could. Although streaming from here is a team effort from both her and Lena so they can set up the green screen and plushies behind her. As well as the amount of VPNs she pays for. It was all worth it. Streaming, and the occasional online tournament prize pot raked in enough cash to not only get good food for herself and the team here, but also enough to afford information brokers. This specific one of which, was Hana's key to finally getting some work done.</p><p>A moment passed, Hana slowly leaning away from the screen and back to her chair. Though before disappointment settled in she received a notification from the messaging application on her computer. She tabbed over, a grin appearing on her face.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: Now that you mention it, I do have more info on Talon where abouts.</p><p>Hana almost jumped out of her chair. A grin smeared on her face. <em>Finally</em>.</p><p>CouchPotato: Great, how much do you want?</p><p>MoradoMarauder: How about we call it a favor, amiga.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello friends. I've been writing for years and never had the guts to post them online. Though I recently had the strong urge to and I hope that doing this will let me improve more as a writer.<br/>I'd be happy to hear some pointers if anyone's willing to give any.<br/>As a side note. I will be writing the first few chapters on my phone, so this might be filled with hecka typos and goofs</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Favor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the wait, I had been distracted with a few things, one of which might have been BlazBlue after my brother had bought it for us. &lt;&lt;<br/>Eitherway, hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently as well as longer chapters soon.<br/>See you all soon!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Favors are what make the world spin. Deals, agreements, transactions, arrangements, pacts, bonds, bargains, and treaties all start with favors. Favors were the money of old, and the best modern currency to date. Someone owing you a favor was powerful. Especially if that someone is powerful.</p><p>Olivia ran by the logic that if everyone owed her a favor, she would be untouchable. Though to also be elusive she dropped the name, went for something a little more discreet. The name Sombra was known in a few circles, the circles she had specifically chose. Powerful organizations that happen to have a little dirty laundry that could be potentially used against them. A few choice independent individuals with the capability to create and repair totally new age and awesome field tech. Those too, which simply had a lot of <em>dinero</em>.</p><p>Though there was one choice individual that wasn't quite any of that. Instead she was an individual that had caught Sombra's attention. A sudden rise to world wide stardom from the video game scene to a war hero. At the same time this individual was just as quickly crucified due to Overwatch's fall. Though she still kept a large loyal fanbase.</p><p>As well as one interested investor. One who could enjoy having a few owed favors by the one and only Hana Song. Favors is what ran the world after all, and if Sombra could count on anything, it's favors. But to have people owe you, you gotta reach out first.</p><p>Sombra could do a very many things. Infiltration, item extraction, espionage, sabotage, and information gathering was the easiest on the list. Especially if the information she was gathering was being handed to her with misguided trust. It's like taking candy from a baby</p><p>She made her way down an unlit alleyway, the rumbling bass of the rave music inside the building in front of her thumping out into the chill night air. A warm comfy oversized coat hanging on her shoulders. Underneath a pair of black nicely fit jeans, and a black crop top with deep purple streaks. Her hair let down the right side of her face, ending in purple tips. The installments on the nape of her neck glowing a faint purple as they peaked just above the coat collar.</p><p>She stopped in front of the bouncer, a tall behemoth of a man with slicked back black hair. He stared at Sombra through the sunglasses that were probably more of a hindrance at this time of night. His eyebrow raised as she flashed a wry smirk.</p><p>"C'mon <em>chico</em>." She winked at him, her hands moving to her hips, "you know who I am."</p><p>The bouncer scoffed in response. His arms crossing to show off his upper body muscles. <em>What a cliche</em></p><p>Sombra sighed impatiently flicking her wrist out, stretching her fingers in a motion she has done millions of times. In tandem, multiple screens and diagnostics appear in front of her, holograms from the biomechanical computer she designed herself.</p><p>The bouncer took one surprised step back, but otherwise remained steadfast, staring her down through his sunglasses as she began typing on purple hexagonal keys.</p><p>The sounds of feedback rung softly through the alley, the purple of the holograms reaching out and covering the dark stones with light. She left her wrist again, the holograms shrinking in to nothing. The light suddenly gone, making the bouncer's eyes take time to readjust, but before he could see past his sunglasses he felt a strong hand grip onto his shoulder.</p><p>"Let her in," the grip tightened, forcing the bouncer to kneel slightly from the pain. "She is our guest, do not disrespect her."</p><p>Sombra smirked as she stepped forward, moving past the bouncer, lightly patting his other shoulder, "<em>gracias</em> Doomfist."</p><p>The grip would loosen, the bouncer letting out a relieved breath, only for the same strength to instead slap him on the back, forcing him to lean forward in a coughing fit.</p><p>A fake smile appeared on Doomfist's face, reaching out to shake Sombra's hand, "Just call me Akande."</p><p>It was clear how strong he was, he towered over both of them. As her hand reached out to shake his, she realized just how much bigger his hand was compared to hers. As they shook hands, he was surprisingly gentle with her, but Sombra could tell the power behind the arm. It was definitely terrifying, knowing full well this man could literally punch through a solid concrete wall.</p><p>But, Sombra gave him a wide smile, "sure thing, Akande." She made sure to not retract her hand too quickly, she had to establish that she was not afraid of him.</p><p>Akande quirked a brow, "I gave you my name, don't I get the courtesy of knowing yours?" The calm smile on his face was worse than the death stare she was used to.</p><p>"Ha!" She scoffed at him, gently patting his chest as she began to walk into the club, "you don't get to where I am by giving out names, <em>hombre</em>."</p><p>Once making it past the tower of a man, she made her way down a dark hallway, the walls matte black, strobe lights peaking through the crack under the door, the bass thumping past the walls, the melody still muffled.</p><p>Sombra confidently moved through the hallway with stride. <em>Now this is where it gets fun</em>. She pushed the door open, the bright multicolored moving lights and blaring electronic dance music made a wicked grin tug at her lips.</p><p>The lights danced across the colorful flashing dance floor panels. The multicolor reflected off the multitude of revealing outfits, adorned by folk who moved and shifted to the rhythm of the music. There was a lack of empty space on the dance floor, bodies rubbing against each other. But Sombra had other plans, directing her attention to the bar. The glass surfaces of the bar seemingly making the light just a bit brighter, more eye catching.</p><p>She moved forward and sat down at one of the stools. Her magenta eyes falling on the very sharply dressed bartender girl. Her hair tied up in a messy ponytail that framed her nicely tanned skin and alluring light brown eyes. Though what really intrigued Sombra was that she wore nicely fitting dress shirt, and slacks that were held by suspenders.</p><p>"<em>Hola, chiquita</em>," Sombra purred as she reached out, slipping three hundred dollar bills into the pocket of the bartender's shirt, "give me some decent scotch and keep the rest for yourself," Sombra leaned closer, patting the pocket, "oh and if you see me talking to a hulking <em>menzo</em>, just make sure you're not around." She'd smirk coyly, "if you behave I'll even give you something extra."</p><p>A crimson blush had crept up the bartender's face, the white light behind her accenting the red in her ears. She nodded, a second passed as she collected herself and moved, placing a bottle of scotch on the counter before serving a glass.</p><p>Sombra leaned against the counter with one arm, magenta eyes boring into the eyes of the flustered bartender, "could you do me a favor and pour another glass, <em>chiquita</em>?" She batted her eyelashes, giving her a intoxicatingly sweet look.</p><p>The bartender seemed about ready to melt, but held it together as she complied, pouring another glass, which was awarded with a smirk and a wink from the haccker extraordinair.</p><p>Sombra could almost feel the earth quake as her attention was ripped and pulled to the towering man that was Akande as he calmly walked toward her. Sombra fought the urge to shudder. She knew what he was capable of, which made interacting with him so much worse, despite his stone cold calm demeanor.</p><p>Sombra looked over to the bartender, their eyes locking for a moment, Sombra's eyes motioning over to the door behind the bar. The hint was recieved quickly, the bartender looking over to Akande for only a moment before calmly making her exit.</p><p>The door behind the bar closed, and not a second later Akande would take his seat beside Sombra. This set her on edge, her body instinctively tensing, but she instead greeted him with a smirk as she slid a glass of scotch over to him. He eyed the glass for a moment before looking up to Sombra with an unnerving emotionless stare.</p><p>"Chill out <em>amigo</em>, it's not poisoned," Sombra smirked as she took a sip from her her own glass, "see?"</p><p>Akande stared at her for a few more seconds, his eyes almost boring into her own. Though, he reached out and grabbed the glass, taking a sip of his own, "are you talking about me behind my back Sombra?"</p><p>Her eyebrow quirked, she took another sip before placing the glass on the counter, "what ever do you mean punchy?" She kept her playful demeanor, she defaulted to it to hide her nerves.</p><p>Akande simply pointed at the door with his middle finger while still holding his glass, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the counter, "it is not smart to gossip about others, especially if they could beat you in a fight."</p><p>Sombra took a deep breath, "Ha!" She patted Akande's shoulder, "hilarious as always, <em>amigo</em>." She leaned back, grabbing her glass to down the rest of its contents, "you have nothing to worry about. She probably needed to use the bathroom."</p><p>Akande continued to stare at her. <em>Jeeze, cool it punchy</em>. He huffed as he took a sip of his drink, "we require your assistance in Germany this weekend." He turned to face the mass of drunkenly dancing idiots, too immersed in their own vices to notice either of them, "we will be working overnight and you will be paid."</p><p>Sombra grinned, <em>cha-ching</em>, "how much?"</p><p>Akande lifted his large arm to reach into the breast pocket of his coat, pulling out a small paper card, handing it to Sombra as he drank the last of his scotch. She grabbed it as she read it, it held all the needed details, including the cash which needless to say almost made her heart jump out of her chest.</p><p>She quickly pocketed the card, turning to face the crowd, leaning her back against the counter, "what's the catch?"</p><p>Akande slowly stood from his bar stool, fixing his collar, "you will be on the field with us." He looked over his shoulder to her, "you will receive the money once the job is done."</p><p>Sombra looked up and stared at his cold and controlled expression, "I'll be there." Her response was all Akande needed as he moved away. His foot falls almost as if shaking the ground with each step.</p><p>Her attention returned to the backlit shelf of drinks as she swiveled around, leaning forward onto the counter, pouring herself another glass of scotch. She usually prefered tequila, but this scotch wasn't half bad. She sighed as she took a sip. She prefered being off site during missions, it was much safer and all she had to do was open doors and keep an eye out through hacked cameras. Though the money offered could be very much worth it, of course if the plan doesn't fail and they don't get themselves killed.</p><p>The other issue was that she had promised a favor to a special someone. Info on the next whereabouts of Talon operatives. "Damn it," Sombra hissed, she didn't even know why she promised such a thing beforehand, she usually had everything figured out in advance, but she had jumped the gun. If she doesn't deliver on her favor, then favors would mean nothing, she couldn't have that.</p><p>She swirled the contents of her glass, staring into the small waves of scotch. If she were off-site like usual she could have the best of both worlds, she could inform D.va and still make sure Talon thought she was on their side. But now she wouldn't have a bird's eye view, and there was a good chance she'd have to come into contact with the little gamer wonder.</p><p>Of course, she didn't know who Sombra was, or that she had been her informant all along, even if they came face to face Sombra wouldn't have to worry about being recognized. <em>There's a good chance she won't be able to go anyway</em>. That's right, there was a chance she could continue her plan without worrying, though she would have to prepare a bit more just in case. Though, it was a gamble that could lead to a great pay out, she just had to trust in her luck.</p><p>Despite her optimism, she couldn't shake the anxious grip in her chest. She took another sip of her drink as the door behind the bar opened, the dame bartender taking a step out. Sombra smirked, <em>I'll figure something out</em>. She sat up, an eyebrow quirking as the bartender's eyes fell on Sombra's.</p><p>"<em>Hola, chiquita</em>," she purred again, slowly licking her lips as she lean towards the bartender, "I guess you'd like your reward now, <em>si</em>?"</p><p>The young bartender's face grew bright red as she swallowed. It was gonna be a long night.</p><p>Sombra reached out and grabbed the the collar of the dress shirt, pulling her closer before she whispered into the girl's ear, "come get me when you're ready to leave." Sombra leaned back, her hand lingering for a moment before she turned around to make her way onto the dance floor. The bartender left speechless, and without a name, not that she'd get one by the end of the night. Sombra would like to have it that way, names made things complicated.</p><p>^o^</p><p>The young bartender girl was suddenly pressed against the wall of the hallway, which lead to her apartment. Sombra pinned her against it as she trailed kisses up the dazed cute girl's neck, eliciting a few whimpers from her. They stumbled up to the door, a quick fumbling of keys and kisses before it opened. Though just as the door swung open a loud notification sound sprung from Sombra's pocket.</p><p>She paused fot a moment, debating whether or not to take it. <em>It's definitely her</em>.</p><p>A shaky breath snapped Sombra out of her trance, "are you gonna take that?" The bartender spoke, just loud enough for Sombra to hear.</p><p>Sombra smirked, "so she speaks," her magenta eyes stared into brown ones, feeling conflicted, "could you, just wait a moment for me <em>chiquita</em>?"</p><p>The bartender nodded, "sure, just lock the door when you come in." She placed a kiss on Sombra's cheek before slipping into the apartment.</p><p>Sombra was left alone in the hallway feeling frustrated in more ways than one. She took a quick look around, the hallway was clean and had a faint lemon smell, this place was definitely nice. She huffed as she leaned against the maroon painted wall, the carpeted floor a darker shade of red. She fished out her phone, a burner to keep in touch with…</p><p>Well, with the one and only Hana "D.va" Song. A name Sombra had grown familiar to, a name that seemed to stir something in her, the same name that had influenced her to make such a rookie mistake. A name that is both revered and despised depending on who you asked. A name that many fawned over. A name that made Sombra grin unkowingly as she opened her phone to respond.</p><p>CouchPotato: Hey, did you get it?</p><p>CouchPotato: Are you sure you don't want me to pay? I have the cash.</p><p>Sombra chuckled to herself. After what she'll be getting for this next mission, money from D.va wasn't near as enticing.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: I'm sure, and yes I did get the info. Did you doubt I could?</p><p>Though Sombra still felt the urge to be owed a favor, especially by D.va. She bit her lip, <em>yeah having the D.va owe you one, that's it.</em></p><p>CouchPotato: I had my faith in you, just anxious is all.</p><p>Sombra smirked, <em>faith, huh</em>? She looked up from her phone and checked her surroundings. No one was around.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: What are you anxious about? What are you planning on doing with this information? You're not with the police are you?</p><p>She snickered to herself, wondering what lie D.va would use as a cover up.</p><p>CouchPotato: LOL no! I just really like true crime stuff is all.</p><p>Sombra scoffed.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: You're willing to pay a lot for a hobby.</p><p>CouchPotato: I have the cash to throw around, so why not?</p><p>Sombra rolled her eyes, out of all those amazing gamer skills, one that fell flat was her ability to lie.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: Sure, anyway I have the info, I'll link it over in a second</p><p>CouchPotato: Thanks, I owe you.</p><p>Sombra grinned. The world continued to shift, another favor in the bank. After she finished sending what was asked for she turned to the apartment door beside her. She slipped the phone back into her pocket and quietly opened the door. The door shut, leaving the hallway empty and silent, save for a gentle click of a lock.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Mistakes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm really sorry for the delay. This chapter had gotten out of my hands and became much longer than I expected. It took a bit of time to finish and reread to try and pick up as many things that I wanted to change. It's still not at the point where I'm satisfied, but it'll never see the light of day if I don't just accept what I got. Sorry for the long winded explanation, hopefully it'll be fun to read!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hana knew what they'd say, she's heard the whole spiel before. It was never the right time, never a good idea, never her call to make. She knew how they'd react: Jack would tell her that following orders is the best thing to do, Lena would try to change the subject, Angela would try and convince her that waiting is the safest procedure, Zarya would huff and cross her arms, and Zenyatta would go off on a tangent about how patience is key to a clear mind.</p><p>Even if she went out of her way to try and contact Winston, she would only get Athena to pick up for him. They were stuck here until told otherwise, and it was infuriating how many opportunities she had already passed up just because they wouldn't listen to her. What's the point of buying info if she wasn't going to do anything with it?</p><p>So instead she decided that she <em>would</em> use it regardless if she had to do it alone. So while Lena was out she slipped into her iconic bodysuit and then a pair of jeans and black turtleneck sweater which covered it. She turned to look at her phone that she had left on her night stand. The info she received the other night was perfect, it was a perfect opportunity for an ambush, so regardless of having help she knew she had to take it.</p><p>She gave herself a once over in the full mirror that leaned against the miss-colored wall, making sure that none of her bodysuit was visible. She smirked to herself before making her way out her door. She made sure to push the door out at a gentle but swift speed, to make sure it would not creak. Once out in the hallway she would instead leave the door open. By the time they would notice she would be long gone.</p><p>"Hana?" A calm synthetic voice gently whirred behind her which almost made her jump out of her skin. <em>Shit</em>.</p><p>Hana flipped around to face Zenyatta, the ever calm omnic monk who was stationed with this team for both physical and mental support. He had been extremely helpful to the members, except for one.</p><p>Hana quickly gave Zenyatta a big smirk, the same one she would give the camera when she turned on her stream. "Yeah?" She shifted to a comfortable stance, placing a hand on her hip. "What's up big guy?"</p><p>Zenyatta did not respond immediately, instead he stared at her for a moment. Which gave Hana the time to squirm under his unreadable gaze. He levitated in front of her, like always. The hallway was quiet, Hana shifting her feet was the only noticeable sound.</p><p>Zenyatta's head tilted towards the open door to Hana's room. The off green clashing with the dirty and horribly chipped brown paint of the hallway, the dirty tiled floors only adding to the decor. His head shifted back as his voice hummed out, "going somewhere?"</p><p>Hana felt her stomach slowly begin to knot, it was faint but the anxiety and guilt would only build, "yeah," she pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, "I was just gonna go for a walk." She kept the smirk, despite the feeling in her gut</p><p>Zenyatta gave a nod, "that is the way to the garage, would it not be easier to leave through the front door?" He lifted one of his mechanical arms, which softly clicked as they moved, to point in the opposite direction with his index finger.</p><p>Hana shrugged, "I wanted to check on my MEKA first." She shifted her weight onto her other leg. Lying was easy when it came to viewers, to strangers, but to friends? It only made Hana feel worse, but she had to do it. Her right hand would grip onto the end of her sleeve, pulling at it.</p><p>Zenyatta's head turned to look at the same hand, "well," his head turned back to her, "I will come and join you."</p><p>Hana smirked wider, <em>buzz off… please</em>. She shrugged before turning around and making her way to the garage. Zenyatta closed the door to her room for her before following her down the hallway. Once inside the garage she flipped on the switch to reveal that the mess from before had been cleaned. The concrete floor free of bolts and screws, the tools neatly arranged on the tables, her MEKA was even polished.</p><p>Hana paused for a moment as she stared in awe. It was as clean as it ever could be, which despite the stained floor, and the one hole in the wall that inexplicably appeared one day while Zarya was moving furniture, was actually quite spotless. She turned her head to Zenyatta, her eyes wide with surprise.</p><p>Zenyatta hummed out a chuckle as he levitated over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "it was Lena's idea." His hand slid off her shoulder as he hovered over to the MEKA. He gently placed his palm onto the machine, "though, everyone did help. Even Jack."</p><p>Hana felt the twist in her gut tighten. She moved to her MEKA, finding a spot next to Zenyatta's palm to find her reflection on the damaged, but polished metal. It had been a while since her machine was back to it's top shape. But seeing her reflection on it reminded her of the first time she stepped up to be a pilot. The first time she stared down her valiant reflection on such a beautiful machine that she was prepared to use to protect.</p><p>Though now when she saw her reflection, she could see the conflict in her own eyes, the fire wasn't gone, but nowhere as fierce. They had spent so much time laying in wait, for the right moment, but that's all time they could have used to keep the innocent safe. She could be doing so much more, but she couldn't blame them.</p><p>She faced Zenyatta, who's unreadable face turned to hers as well. They were her allies, they were heroes with abilities and history beyond her. They were not at fault, they had to be careful, after all the world was now against them.</p><p>"Hana," Zenyatta's hum broke the silence, or what would have been silence if the fluorescent light above them hadn't been buzzing, "you are crying." His mechanical hand reached out, gently wiping away a tear, the cold metal of his finger brushing against her cheek.</p><p>Hana took in a shaky breath, "Zen, I'm sorry." She looked over to the MEKA again, shying away from his hand.</p><p>"You do not need to apologize to me, Hana." He moved away, out of Hana's periphery, "only to the others once you come back."</p><p>"What?" Hana flipped around, only to find Zenyatta holding her head piece as he reached out his arm to hand it to her. She sheepishly took it, staring at it in her hands, "you knew?" She looked back up to Zenyatta with a look that resembled a child caught red handed, sad and pensive, waiting to be told that she's wrong.</p><p>Zenyatta gave her a nod, "you are not the best at deception Ms. Song." Instead of chastising her he simply stared at her.</p><p>She squirmed under his gaze, but then she realized, "-when I come back? You're not gonna stop me Zen?"</p><p>The mechanical monk turned his head towards the door that led to the hallway, "normally I would tell you that it would not be wise." He turned back to Hana, raising an arm to point towards the same door, "but if you had left while I was distracted, then it would be out of my control."</p><p>Hana smirked, the guilt in her gut still twisted, but some of the anxiety was alleviated. It wasn't their fault, but she <em>needed</em> to do this. She leaped forward, wrapping her arms around the omnic's slender frame. His limbs cool and firmly made of metal, but the returning embrace she was given was somehow warm and soft.</p><p>Hana took a deep breath, trying to steel herself as another tear rolled down her cheek, "I promise I'll be back." She moved her hand to wipe away the tear before pulling away, meeting Zenyatta's gaze with a smirk, "<em>gomawo</em>."</p><p>Zenyatta tilted his head, it was not of confusion, but of recognition. As Hana looked at him fighting back the urge to shed any more tears, he could see a burning flame building, ready to set ablaze.</p><p>He knew she had far to go, but this seemed to be the first step. Hopefully he would not come to regret his decision, but he placed his faith in Hana. He moved back, gave her a silent nod, one which she returned with determination. He made his way out of the garage, closing the door behind him.</p><p>Hana turned to her MEKA, almost ripping off her turtleneck and jeans, leaving her in her iconic bodysuit. She then placed her head piece on to her head, her eyes moving to the closed door. The twist in her gut didn't stop her from smirking wider. She would have to be out of here quickly, before anyone could realize she was gone, so she first slowly opened the garage door, which opened to the brisk night time air. She then circled around her MEKA, moving behind it before pressing a button on her head piece.</p><p>The machine whirred to life, giving a few gentle beeps of life as the back opened up to reveal the cockpit. Hana quickly scrambled in, the systems of the machine almost instantly calibrating to the sensors in her suit. Full body controls were developed to make the MEKA units more responsive and agile, but it required the use of specialized bodysuits with the appropriate technology. She wasn't the biggest fan of the skin tight suits at first, but she had to admit that full body controls were worth it.</p><p>The cockpit closed behind her as she grabbed the two joysticks in front of her, the heads up display appearing in front of her. Within a few seconds she got the machine to move, taking a few steps forward before sprinting forward, out into the night. Once outside, the legs of her MEKA flattening blades of grass and kicking a bit of dirt as it stomped forward. Hana knew by this point someone had probably noticed, but by now they couldn't have stopped her anyway. She pressed two buttons on her joysticks, the boosters on the back of the MEKA coming to life with a burst as she and her machine climbed up into the sky.</p><p>★.★</p><p>The battle worn bipedal machine's feet clanked down onto the roof of a darkened building. The lights of all the buildings in the immediate vicinity were strangely off, despite being in the middle of a lively city. What irked Hana more was that there were no people in the street below her either. It was empty, save for the single street lamp that struggled to stay on as it occasionally flickered.</p><p>Hana could hear sirens and traffic in the distance, but it only helped to make this place feel much more abandoned. She scoffed as she lowered her MEKA and opened the cockpit, slipping out and moving toward the edge of the building. With the MEKA squatted in the darkness behind her in standby mode she could use her small size as an advantage to get a better peak. She squatted behind the border, her head barely peered over as she waited. Marauder better not have given her the wrong information. Though it's not like she could do anything if they did, she had no clue who "MoradoMarauder" was. It was an unspoken truce, neither would reveal their personal information, that way it was a simple transaction, and maybe a bit of gaming.</p><p>Though, recently this mysterious hacker started giving info for nothing in return, calling it "favors". Hana didn't like the idea of owing anybody, but they wouldn't accept any other kind of payment, and she had no one else to turn to. This Marauder had the best information to offer, predictions that were 100% accurate. She knew a few people who would pay good money to have that kind of friend when it came to upcoming video games. But that was why she was here now, squatting on a building waiting for <em>anything</em> to happen in the empty street below. Despite the dubious info broker and given location, Hana knew Marauder was somehow always 100% correct.</p><p>And that was why despite her worry, when she spotted a cloaked shadowy figure below she wasn't surprised. She instead just waited and watched as they moved down the sidewalk, passing by the flickering street lamp before stopping in front of a building. Said building was built of brick, and appeared to have no entrance from this side, though it had a rusty fire escape and multiple windows for it's four floors, but the figure didn't try to reach for the metal ladder above their head that led up. Instead the figure simply waited, staring at a brick wall</p><p>Hana tilted her head, she watched as the figure stood there. She wondered what they were waiting for, why that wall in particular. Then suddenly she saw a tan and muscled arm reach out from the cloak, reaching up to place to fingers against their ear. Then after a nod, a large golden fist emerged from the cloak. This made the twist in Hana's stomach lurch as she watched the same fist reel back, generating a crackling blue energy around it, as pieces of shining gold metal shifted and click, the same energy bursting out behind the elbow, propelling the fist into the brick wall, shattering brick into dust and leaving a hole big enough for a car to drive into.</p><p>Big enough for her MEKA to enter. She needed to know what they were up to, and how to stop them. So she pushed off the border and sprinted back to her MEKA, and jumped inside. The machine standing tall as she got recalibrated in less than a second, flipping the machine around, the legs sprinting forward. She jumped off the building, using the boosters to break her fall, but the machine still landing with a heavy thunk.</p><p>The figure turned around, the cloak slipping off revealing the rest of what was Doomfist. Wearing baggy beige shorts, a red sash across his waist, the golden arm strapped onto one side of his torso as it clamped onto his right pec.</p><p>Hana could still feel the twist in her gut, she knew what Doomfist was capable of, how he had hurt his friends in the past, the ruthless cold stare of a murderer's eyes, watching her. Hana smirked despite it, she gripped onto the joysticks tighter, "surprised to see me?" She teased, using the same mask, the same voice, she used on her streams, despite gritting her teeth.</p><p>Doomfist gave her a devilish sneer, shifting into a fighting stance, "yes, but pleasantly so. It has been too long since I've gotten the chance to break bones."</p><p>Hana fought the urge to shiver under the cold eyes of a violence hungry sociopath. Suddenly, a dark smoke rose from the ground beside Doomfist, quickly rising and swirling before dissipating, revealing a black cloaked man, his arms crossed over his chest holding two shotguns that framed the skull mask.</p><p>Reaper turned his head to see Hana, grumbling under his breath, instead turning towards the hole in the wall behind Doomfist, "take care of her," his voice like shredding gravel, "we don't have the time for this, police will arrive shortly." He stepped over the rubble and into the darkness of the building.</p><p>Hana shouted, "oh no you don't!" She pushed her joysticks forward, the thrusters in her MEKA shooting the machine forward. The fusion cannons on it's limbs winding up as she shot forward towards the hole.</p><p>Instead a golden arm grabbed onto one of the fusion cannons, yanking Hana back and flinging her into another building. Her MEKA formed a crater into the bricks, rocks bouncing off of the windshield as her body was jostled, slamming into the side of the cockpit. She hissed out a curse as Doomfist stepped closer, "it is such a shame you had to die so young," he chuckled as he reeled back his fist again, the blue energy forming around it..</p><p>Hana looked up, her eyes narrowing and sucking in a deep breath as she shifted the MEKA's arm cannon, yanking it out of the wall as Doomfist rocketed toward her, throwing dirt and rubble into his face as she used her boosters to propel out of the wall, and just shy of his punch as he closed his eyes, the outer shell of her MEKA scraping across the gold of his fist.</p><p>Doomfist's gauntlet slammed into the building, making an even deeper crater, a few windows above shattering. Hana steered her MEKA, turning a quick one-eighty, the legs clamping onto the pavement, sending sparks out as she skid backwards, the boosters giving a final push to help stop her momentum. "Missed me!" She cheered.</p><p>As the dust settled, Hana watched Doomfist yank his gauntlet from the wall, more pieces of brick falling onto the sidewalk as he chuckled, "you're just like a fly, annoying and inconsequential." The blue energy would accumulate around his gauntlet as he leaped forward, bringing his fist over his head while in the air, yelling out a growl as his fist slammed against the floor, cracking the pavement and shifting the MEKA's weight.</p><p>Hana lost balance for a split second, just long enough for Doomfist to close the gap as his gauntlet reached towards the glass off the cockpit. Hana's eyes widened for just a moment before her instincts kicked back in, the fire in her eyes returning as she boosted forward, turning her fusion canons to jab into his torso as she began pushing him back. Hana then pulled both triggers, the cannons stirring into a spin as they blasted Doomfist with energy rounds from point blank range.</p><p>Yet Doomfist's gauntlet remained holding on the cockpit glass, as he dug his feet into the earth, the rocks crumbling beneath his feet. A red mist lit by the flashing blue energy of her fusion cannons. Hana's eyes widened, as a grip tightened around her heart.</p><p>The red of his blood, seemed to crawl outwards, covering her vision from outside of the cockpit. The energy rounds making the blood periodically glow like a blinking light. A warning siren filled Hana's ears, as she could almost see the red peeking out from the ocean. The bright red light that made her freeze years ago.</p><p>The fusion cannons stopped spinning, the boosters still pushing, but they were not moving. Doomfist held himself and the MEKA anchored to the floor. His head hung as blood poured from the burns on his sides. But as Hana's breaths just started feeling less shallow, she suddenly heard metal bending as Doomfist's gauntlet grabbed, and sunk his fingers into the hull.</p><p>Hana didn't have a second, otherwise she would have shut off her boosters. In the blink of an eye Doomfist twisted, the ground he had anchored to crumbling as he shifted his weight to fling the MEKA behind him, using it's boosters against it as it flew into the previous crater, the wall of the building collapsing over Hana.</p><p>Hana slammed into the side of her cockpit, coughing out in pain. <em>Damnit, not now</em>! Her grip tightened onto the joysticks of her MEKA. She yanked them, the machine shifted as rubbled clattered onto the floor. The machine stood, the glass of the cockpit cracked, the hull stability critical as the meter on the bottom right of the MEKA HUD was almost empty.</p><p>The MEKA stepped out from the hole it had left after getting flung again. A brick fell to the ground behind the machine as Hana focused her eyes past the settling dust and the crack in the windshield. She saw Doomfist, standing tall while breathing heavily. Red ichor trickled down his sides, staining his pants, a deep chuckle coming from a wicked grin, "if you were strong, you would have killed me." Doomfist spit on the ground as he began to walk forward, "you are nothing but a <em>weakling</em>. Nothing but a fly among birds of prey."</p><p>Hana gritted her teeth, shifting her fingers, setting her thumbs on the buttons for micro missiles, and getting ready to boost forward as she watched blue energy form around Doomfist's gauntlet.</p><p>"Enough," a gravelly voice yelled from behind Doomfist, "stop toying with her and just get it done, we got what we came for." Reaper appeared from behind Doomfist, holding on to what seemed to be a black briefcase.</p><p><em>Toying?</em> Hana's eyes darted between the two, he hadn't taken her seriously?</p><p>Doomfist scoffed, "say no more." The blue energy blasted the gauntlet forward towards Hana. She flinched, her body preparing for a blow that never game. When she opened her eyes she saw Doomfist's gauntlet lose it's momentum, the blue energy dissipating as he skid to a stop. His eyes finally expressing wild anger as he flipped around, "Sombra!"</p><p>This was Hana's chance, she pushed her joysticks forward, slamming his fingers onto the buttons for both boosters and micro missiles… but nothing happened. Instead her MEKA refused to move, as the HUD's blue icons darkened to purple, a skull of the same color appearing in the center of her screen, "what!?" She yanked her joysticks back and forth, but to no avail.</p><p>A woman stepped out from behind Reaper, out of the building they had infiltrated, "C'mon, <em>chicos</em>, it's stupid to kill her off now." She stepped forward, the purple tips of her brown hair bouncing as she walked, two bands of neurotech attached to the left side of her head, hair shaved to accommodate, giving her a very punk look. Hana sneered angrily, <em>Sombra's her name huh?</em></p><p>Sombra flourished out her fingers, showing off the neurotech that traveled up her arm and imbued through her sleeve. Her outfit varying shades of purple, showing off more tech attached to her body, mostly covered by a short matching cloak. Her fingers snapped, forming holographic hexagons that she continued to use almost as if they were keys.</p><p>The MEKA began to move on it's own which made Hana panic, she quickly tried to move it herself by yanking the joysticks, but the machine wouldn't listen to her. So instead she tried to eject, but the cockpit refused to open, so instead she moved to grab her light gun, which was absent from it's holster. She had left it behind to be able to sneak out. <em>Fuck</em>!</p><p>"See, I can take care of her." Sombra said as she made the MEKA step forward, "if you kill her now you'll get a lot more unwanted attention."</p><p>"When weaklings are born, they must either become strong or die." Doomfist walked over to Sombra, stopping to tower over her, "stop your meddling."</p><p>Sombra barked a single unimpressed laugh, patting Doomfist's arm, "chill out punchy." Hana's eyes widened at her nonchalant behavior. "She seemed to hurt you pretty good, <em>chavo</em>." Sombra nodded her head toward the still bleeding burns on his sides, "you probably want to go and lick your wounds."</p><p>Doomfist growled, he shifted to lift his gauntlet, despite no energy charging it reared back. A clawed hand on his shoulder stopped him, "she's right, killing her now would ruin our plan." Reaper's gravelly voice made Doomfist freeze, then lower his gauntlet.</p><p>Doomfist then turned, brushing off Reaper's claw before walking away, back toward the direction he had initially appeared from. This time with no cloak, and a trail of blood.</p><p>Sombra scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, "<em>se porta como un niño</em>," she then waved her hand over to Reaper, her fingers moving one after the other, "don't worry boss, I'll deal with her."</p><p>Hana and Sombra watched as Reaper grunted, "don't be late," before crossing his arms, dissipating into black smoke, leaving nothing behind.</p><p>Sombra then sighed in relief before looking over to the MEKA, calmly walking up to it, her face peering through the windshield of the cockpit just out of arm's reach, her violet eyes staring into Hana's, a small smirk tugging at her lips, "<em>hola, chica</em>."</p><p>Hana stared at her, confused and bewildered. Who was she? How could she take control of her MEKA so easily? It all just frustrated Hana, especially that damned smirk, the smirk Sombra gave her made a fire burn in her, of anger and something else Hana didn't want to think about. So she reached above her joysticks, and instead slammed her fist into the glass of the cockpit, which did nothing but hurt her knuckles and make Sombra flinch.</p><p>"Woah, calm down," Sombra lifted her hands up, revealing her palms, "I'm not gonna hurt you, <em>chica</em>." Which was only followed by another of Hana's fist punching the glass.</p><p>Hana winced, a bit of her own blood from her knuckle now on the glass, "shut up." She mumbled as she punched the glass once more.</p><p>Sombra's brows knit with concern as she instinctively stepped forward, just enough for Hana to notice, and slip out one of her arms past her joystick and instead grab onto Sombra's collar yanking her closer.</p><p>Sombra's eyes widened as she waved her hand in response, a reaction which the MEKA obeyed by taking a step back, making Hana lose her grip, "you bitch!" Hana hissed, her hands reaching out attempting to grab her again, but the cockpit glass was much too restrictive, only giving her enough leverage to manipulate the now useless joysticks.</p><p>Sombra just signed, "listen, it was really stupid for you to come out here, especially by yourself." Sombra waved her hand, the same purple holograms reappearing as she typed more into the hexagons. "You're lucky I was here to stop them from killing you."</p><p><em>Lucky</em>!? Hana growled out, "do you want a fucking award? You helped them!" Hana shifted, pulling her arm back in to punch the glass again.</p><p>Sombra shot her arms forward in attempt to stop her, "woah woah, <em>chica</em> slow down! Let me talk!" Sombra stepped forward again, but remained out of Hana's reach, a sense of worry in her eye.</p><p>But it couldn't be, Sombra was the enemy, she wouldn't care, <em>so why</em>… Hana's fist lowered as well as her head, her brunette locks falling over her eyes as she stared down at the destroyed pavement, remaining quiet.</p><p>Sombra watched, just long enough to make sure Hana wasn't gonna do anything again, "listen, let me cut you a deal." She pushed a few more hexagonal keys, "to get you home I need you out of that gundam, but that means you won't try to kill me, deal?"</p><p>Hana quirked an eyebrow at the mention of gundam, but she continued to stare at the floor, feeling dejected, "mech," she mumbled out.</p><p>Sombra tilted her head, "<em>mande</em>?" Her fingers stopped moving, leaving the two in a few seconds of silence.</p><p>"It's a mech," Hana said a bit louder this time, "gundams are from a specific anime." Her comment got a surprised chuckle out of Sombra before she returned to her typing. Hana breathed in, trying to calm down some now that she was out of seemingly immediate danger, but her side suddenly stung, "ouch!" She winced, despite still being on edge, a lot of the adrenaline was wearing off, her side feeling sore.</p><p>Sombra looked over, the same tinge of worry on her face that Hana could see from in between strands of her own hair. The expression making the knot in Hana's stomach tighten again. Sombra hovered her finger over one last key, "listen, <em>chica</em>, if you want to get fixed up you gotta accept my deal, truce for now 'kay?"</p><p>Hana stared at Sombra, wondering if it was a trick, if this was some ploy to get her even more vulnerable than she already was. If this was all just some dirty trick to mess with her head. But the hint of concern in Sombra's eyes made Hana's outer wall crumble, even if it was just for now. <em>I don't have much of a choice anyway</em>. Hana simply nodded.</p><p>Sombra watched Hana, for a few moments stuck in a thought before finally pressing the last key, the hologram shrinking into nothing as the cockpit of the MEKA opened and as Hana slipped out.</p><p>As Hana landed, she crumbled under her own weight, a stabbing pain in her side shooting up her body, letting out a pained whimper in response. Exhaustion didn't help much either.</p><p>Sombra's eyes widened, "<em>chin</em>!" She rushed over to Hana and helped her up. Sombra pulled one of Hana's arms over her shoulders. "There we are, now let's get you moving." Sombra spoke softly, almost tenderly. If she hadn't been part of Talon, Hana would think she might've cared.</p><p>Hana's attention instead remained on her MEKA which remained in stand by, she could now see the damage Doomfist had done. Just below the cockpit was a torn hole that he had grabbed onto to fling her. The overall shape of the MEKA was bent and disfigured, still functional but only barely as it no longer looked anything like it originally had. Hana could feel her heart drop at the sight, a tear rolling down her cheek.</p><p>A tear that didn't go by unnoticed by Sombra. The hacker watched Hana's expressions as they kept moving forward, choosing to stay silent.</p><p>It was Hana that broke the silence as she tore her eyes away from her misshapen machine, "what are you gonna do with it?" She spoke, just loud enough for Sombra to hear, but Sombra could hear the undertones of a threat, a snake rattle of anger.</p><p>Sombra chose her words carefully, "<em>no se,</em>" which only made Hana's eyes narrow, "-I don't know, <em>chica</em>, at least not yet." Sombra admitted as they turned a corner, walking further from the MEKA and the dying streetlamp light.</p><p>Hana stared at the floor as thoughts rolled through her head, millions of questions and worries bouncing around in her skull, tightening the knot in her stomach with anxiety, but only one reached her mouth, "why?"</p><p>Sombra's eyes looked down to Hana only briefly before returning to look forward, "why what?" Sombra then turned another corner, arriving at an empty parking lot of an abandoned supermarket.</p><p>Hana coughed, her side stabbing her with pain, she winced but kept moving through it, "why didn't you let them kill me."</p><p>Sombra's eyebrow rose as she reached forward with her free hand and flicked her wrist to bring back the purple hexagons, along with a hologram screen, "you heard me, <em>chica</em>. It would ruin the plan."</p><p>Hana let out a pained scoff, "bullshit." She watched just past her bangs, she watched as Sombra typed onto her hexagonal keys, and watched as the screen responded with strings of text.</p><p>Sombra's lips pursed, but she acted indifferent, "like I said, we don't want more attention than-"</p><p>Hana cut her off, "liar," she moved her head to look at Sombra. Just then realizing just how close their faces were in that moment, a blush creeping up Hana's neck as she noticed how the light from the holograms bounced off Sombra's eyes. <em>Stop it</em>. She darted her eyes away as Sombra turned to look at her.</p><p>Sombra's eyebrows knit, "then would you believe me if I said that I couldn't let a cute girl die?" She watched for Hana's response, waving her holograms away.</p><p>Hana could feel heat rising to her cheeks, a blush creeping up further, "ha ha," Hana let out a dry laugh, "don't try that stockholm shit with me."</p><p>Sombra let out a snicker, "right, not what I was going for, but I see your point." Sombra shifted, "do you mind if I set you down? You're heavier than you look."</p><p>Hana rolled her eyes, "fine, but calling me heavy isn't doing you any favors."</p><p>"You know that's not what I meant," Sombra kneeled down, helping Hana sit down on the pavement before sliding Hana's arm off her shoulders and back to her side.</p><p>Hana winced, her side shot out with a stabbing pain. She moved her arm to place her hand on her side, checking if there was blood, there was none, at least not enough to bleed through her body suit, so she dropped her arm.</p><p>Sombra moved closer placing a hand on Hana's side, the same one Hana herself had checked, "you okay, <em>chica</em>?" +Hana nodded, taking a moment to look around, noting that they were still standing in an empty parking lot, "I'm fine, but what are we waiting for?"</p><p>Sombra's hand continued to stay at Hana's side, her palm slowly sliding up her ribs, Hana's eyes widened, "what are you doing- Agh!" Hana exclaimed in pain as Sombra's fingers briefly pressed in against her ribs, a low crunch audible as she did so, "what the fuck!" Hana did her best to shove Sombra away, only causing her more pain, wincing as a result.</p><p>Sombra caught herself, she huffed in frustration as she stood up and dusted off her hands, "you have a broken rib, <em>tonta</em>. Stop moving around so much."</p><p>Hana moved her arm to place her hand at her side and cover her torso defensively, "whatever." She glared up at Sombra, "you didn't answer my question."</p><p>Sombra crossed her arms as she met Hana's glare with an unamused smirk, "we're waiting for," Sombra lifted an arm to point over her shoulder, "that," and just as Sombra finished her smirk grew wider as a Talon ship quietly appeared from over a building, the only noteable feature in the dark sky was the red LED lights placed on the underside.</p><p>Hana's breathing became shallow as the red lights started growing bigger, getting closer, as the Talon aircraft lowered to land in the parking lot. <em>Damn red lights</em>.</p><p>Her vision was then filled with purple, as Sombra stepped into her view again, reaching out a hand, "c'mon, <em>chica</em>, let's get you home." Sombra spoke softly, the Talon ship's whirring still not even remotely loud this close, but the mild gusts of wind making Sombra's cloak ripple and her hair flow.</p><p>Hana was transfixed for a moment, but snapped herself out of her trance. She reached out and grabbed Sombra's hand. Once up and leaning against Sombra the two moved closer to the drop ship, entering the hangar that had automatically opened for them.</p><p>When inside, the hangar door closed behind them as they stepped inside, a few dim lights turning on as the sound from outside was muted. Only the gentle whirring of the ship's jets, which were somehow no where near as loud as the distant sound of traffic. They moved to sit down at one of the benches against the wall. Sombra helped Hana sit down first before sitting down next to her.</p><p>Hana looked over to Sombra, shooting her another glare, "why are you sitting next to me?"</p><p>Sombra's brow furrowed, not out of anger, but out of frustration and seemingly worry, "you're injured, <em>tonta</em>, it's better to be safe than sorry."</p><p>Hana could feel the the ship begin to move, her body teetering with the sudden shift. Sombra reached out to make sure Hana wouldn't fall, but Hana slapped her hand away, keeping herself upright on her own, despite her side still in horrible pain, "I'm fine, I'm not a kid," Hana hissed.</p><p>Sombra crossed her arms, a frustrated frown on her face, "well you do seem to act like one." Though she respected Hana's wishes, though only slightly, by scooting away and giving Hana some space.</p><p>Then what followed was a few minutes of silence, in which Hana stared straight forward thinking about everything that transpired. Jack was going to kill her, and Lena is gonna hold this over her for months, let alone what the rest were gonna say. She rubbed her face with her hands, she knew she had fucked up, she knew she had betrayed her friends' trust, and the thought only made the twist in her gut tighten further. The guilt some how more painful than the broken rib.</p><p>"So… not a gundam huh?" Sombra's voice broke the silence. Hana peaked past her fingers to look at Sombra, who stared forward at the adjacent wall. A thoughtful look on her face.</p><p>Hana responded, if not to distract herself, "yeah, it's a mech." Hana sat up straighter, wincing again as she leaned back against the wall, "it's kinda in the name. The MEKA unit."</p><p>Sombra turned to face Hana, quirking an eyebrow in curiosity, "MEKA, huh?" Her eyes moving down to look at the branding on Hana's leg, "what does it stand for?"</p><p>Hana closed her eyes, exhaustion rearing its ugly head, but Hana didn't trust Sombra enough to fall asleep now, "Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army. We're a select few who were chosen to fend off the <em>gwishin</em> omnics."</p><p>Sombra took a moment to respond, which made Hana open one eye to look over, only to see a puzzled expression. "You're being very generous with details," Sombra tilted her head forward.</p><p>Hana closed her eye and just waved her off, "this is all stuff you could find on google."</p><p>Sombra let out a snort, "that is true, it's not too hard to find info on the one and only D.va"</p><p>Hana's eyes opened halfway, looking over to give Sombra a glare, a weak one but a glare nonetheless.</p><p>Sombra shrugged, her smirk widening, "what, you didn't expect me to know?" She then dropped her arms and leaned back against the wall, "what do you take me a for?"</p><p>Hana's glare intensified, her head turning to face Sombra so that she could stare her down, "I take you for a criminal, you should be behind bars."</p><p>Sombra's brow raised, she crossed her arms, "then apparently we're not that far off, <em>chica</em>."</p><p>"I'm nothing like you," Hana head turned back to face the opposing wall, "I <em>help and protect</em> people, <em>I save lives</em>."</p><p>Sombra scoffed, "didn't I just save <em>your</em> life half an hour ago?"</p><p>Hana felt a fire burn within her gut, an anger building in her that has been building for months, "that's different."</p><p>Sombra knew she was pushing buttons, but the smirk on her face expressed how much she was enjoying it, "care to explain?"</p><p>Hana sneered in anger, "gladly," she growled while turning her body to face Sombra despite the pain. She reached out to grab Sombra by her collar to pull her closer, "I save lives <em>no matter what</em>" Sombra's smirk was melting away as Hana hissed, "not just because it would 'attract more unwanted attention.' "</p><p>Sombra lifted her hands, showing her palms, "okay okay, <em>loca</em>, I get it just let me go before I make you."</p><p>Hana stared at Sombra, debating on whether she should punch the purple bitch. Instead she shoved her away, which only made Hana double over in pain, "<em>ssi-bal</em>."</p><p>Sombra instinctively reached out to help, but hesitated, instead choosing to drop her arms to her sides, "stop moving, <em>idiota</em>"</p><p>"Shut up" Hana took a deep breath as she straightened her back again, her hands placed over her rib.</p><p>Hana remained still, waiting for the pain to lessen, and it slowly did. This gave her room to think. They were currently in the air, she could tell that much, and they had been moving, Sombra said home- <em>I never told her where to go</em>. Her head whipped over to Sombra, staring her down with another glare.</p><p>Sombra looked up, already tired of babysitting, "what now?" She asked with an unimpressed look on her face.</p><p>Hana spoke just loud enough for Sombra to hear, "I never told you where to go. <em>Where are we going?</em>"</p><p>Sombra's face paled, she froze, her wide violet eyes staring at Hana's like deer's stuck in headlights. So Hana reeled back her fist, swinging to hit Sombra's face, but it was blocked by her forearm.</p><p>Sombra finally spoke, "<em>chica</em>, listen just calm-" Hana swung her other fist, which struck Sombra's cheek. Hana then began to stand as she reeled back another punch.</p><p>Sombra quickly stood, pushing forward and grabbing Hana's wrists to stop her attack. Hana then lost her balance as she was shoved back and onto the floor of the dropship. Her back arching as she yelped in pain, both from her head slamming onto the metal floor, and the pain shooting out from her side. She tried to move, but she was pinned, her wrists held down by Sombra's hands as she was straddled.</p><p>Hana attempted to glare up at Sombra, but Sombra's face showed her own ferocity, a furious glare and sneer staring down at Hana which made her falter. As well as make her ears red. "<em>Que chingados, ya detente</em>" Sombra then spit blood to the side, "I'm taking you home, <em>loca</em>."</p><p>Hana stared up at Sombra, still dazed, <em>probably just a concussion</em>. "How do you know where I live?" She watched Sombra's violet eyes, her own wide with horror.</p><p>Sombra scoffed, "<em>ay por favor</em>, I'm the best hacker there is. You stream regularly <em>D.va</em>, it really wasn't that hard."</p><p>Hana blinked, "but I'm behind multiple high grade VPNs! It's impossible!"</p><p>Sombra raised an eyebrow before an unimpressed smirk pulled at her lips, "<em>ha</em>!"</p><p>Hana stared up at Sombra for a few more seconds that felt like an eternity, "did you sell that info to talon?" Hana asked, swallowing hard.</p><p>Sombra's smirk died, her violet eyes darting away, "pfft, no, of course not." Her grip on Hana's wrists loosened, but Hana didn't budge.</p><p>"Why not?" Hana stared up at Sombra, her eyebrows knit with both fear and confusion.</p><p>Sombra's looked back down, the expression on Hana's face making her falter, "... I couldn't," she whispered.</p><p>Hana paused, still completely dumbfounded, "what?"</p><p>Sombra averted her gaze, glaring at a wall as she shifted off Hana, instead taking a seat next to her on the floor. Hana still not moving a muscle, "I-... I just couldn't alright?"</p><p>Hana stared up at the ceiling for a few more seconds. <em>She's crazy</em>. She shifted, letting out a pained groan as she leaned on her elbow, just so she could lift her head and look at Sombra. She watched Sombra glare a hole into the wall, millions of more thoughts rushing through her head, "so you just stalk me through the internet?"</p><p>Sombra turned to Hana, "what? No, I don't do that." She brought her hand up to scratch the nape of her neck sheepishly, "I just stumbled across your stream one day, and figured it would be a fun challenge."</p><p>Hana stared at Sombra, noticing a blush creeping onto her face, which Hana thought looked good against the dark purple of her cloak, "that's pretty fucking creepy, Sombra."</p><p>Sombra's eyes swung back to Hana's, an embarrassed yet frustrated glare on her face, "I just found details, that's it."</p><p>Hana snickered, pushing against the floor so she can sit up, "oh so you just happened to find my home address through multiple encryptions? I don't think that's how it works." Hana raised an eyebrow, trying to hide a smirk as Sombra grew more frantic.</p><p>Sombra groaned in frustration, pushing off the ground, choosing to remain quiet as she reached her hand out again to help Hana up, and Hana just stared.</p><p>As she looked up to Sombra, Hana could feel the anxiety in her gut alleviate. She must have been delusional because she didn't feel worried, despite Sombra knowing key information. She let Sombra help her up and set her on the same bench, this time not mentioning the fact that Sombra sat right next to her, their legs brushing against each other, her palm on Hana's back.</p><p>Hana piped up, but barely audible, "just promise…"</p><p>Sombra leaned in closer, "what?" She lowered her head to try and see Hana's face, but her eyes were obscured by her bangs.</p><p>Hana shook her head, "forget it, it's not like you'll care." The twist in her gut tightened. Not only did she break their trust, but she also endangers her friends and allies.</p><p>Sombra's eyebrows knit together, "try me."</p><p>Hana turned her head, her chestnut brown eyes staring directly into Sombra's violet ones, "promise you won't hurt them."</p><p>Sombra was caught off gaurd, swallowing the lump in her throat, "who?"</p><p>Hana head lowered, hiding her face in the crook of Sombra's shoulder, "the others-... My friends who live with me." Hana's hands gripped onto Sombra's cloak, "please."</p><p>Sombra stared down at Hana, unsure of what to do. So after hesitating, she placed her hand on Hana's head, her other still on her back, "I-… I promise."</p><p>Hana's grip tightened, her face still hidden in Sombra's shoulder, "you break that promise and I break you."</p><p>Sombra chuckled, "of course."</p><p>They remained that way, almost frozen in time as Hana kept her face buried in Sombra's shoulder. This was the only way she could stop herself from crying. She hated that she was in this position, she hated that she didn't know what Sombra was thinking, or her intentions. She hated not knowing if something like making her promise would even <em>mean</em> anything to Sombra. But she still had to try <em>something</em>, anything. She held onto the little hope she had for the world, placing her faith on this purple clad woman. If this strange hacker, who by some strange turn of events now held her like an old friend would, could keep her promise then maybe the world wasn't so awful.</p><p>The ship shifted causing Hana accidently lean forward into Sombra, who moved her hand from Hana's back to the bench to stop them both from tumbling. Hana then realized that she was still holding onto Sombra, her face flushing in embarrassment as she shoved the hacker away. Hana then crossed her arms and turned away.</p><p>She heard Sombra chuckle before she stood. Softly patting Hana's shoulder, which made Hana peak back over her shoulder. "Let's go," Sombra hummed, "we're here <em>chica</em>."</p><p>Sombra helped Hana up on her feet. "So what do I owe you," Hana watched Sombra's face, "you know, for saving me. It couldn't have come without a catch."</p><p>Sombra stared forward, watching the hangar door open, a sudden gust of wind pushing their hair back, "how about we call it a favor, <em>amiga</em>." She turned to Hana, flashing her a lopsided smirk.</p><p>Hana's eyebrows knit, <em>why does that sound familiar</em>? Her thought was cut short as a bright light appeared from just outside the hangar door. A light that grew out into a bubble, large enough to cover a person.</p><p>Zarya stood at the foot of the hangar door, a stone cold ferocity in her eyes as she held her particle cannon at the ready, and as they stepped forward, Hana noticed the rest of them. They were in the middle of a clearing, one that was not too far from the hideout. Directly behind Zarya stood Angela, with her caduceus staff, Lena stood adjacent pointing her pulse pistols forward, both Jack and Zenyatta were probably not too far, but out of sight.</p><p>Hana raised a hand over her head, "don't shoot!" She could see the sudden shift in their expressions, from fierce and battle ready to worried and horrified.</p><p>Lena reacted first, quickly holstering her pulse pistols before sprinting forward, blinking to shorten the already arguably small distance between them. Once close enough she reached out to move Hana from Sombra's shoulders to her own hug, "we were so worried." Lena whispered, her voice shaky.</p><p>The twist in Hana's gut started to tighten further, but before she could speak, she heard a voice behind her, "she's got a broken rib-" Sombra piped up, but only got a death glare from Lena in response, the others stepping closer and surrounding Hana. Sombra took a few good steps back, "I guess that's my queue."</p><p>Zarya continued to step forward, pointing her particle cannon straight at Sombra, "if you think we will just let you leave you are-"</p><p>"Stop it," Hana interrupted, pulling away from Lena's embrace to turn her head over to Zarya and Sombra, "let her go."</p><p>Zarya looked over her shoulder, "but-"</p><p>"She said to stop," Angela spoke sternly, moving over to place a hand on Hana's shoulder. A determined loom in her eye Hana hadn't seen in a while.</p><p>Zarya obliged, begrudgingly, letting Sombra slowly walk backwards into the ship. The hangar door closed, the ship then rising into the air. Everyone then shifted their attention to Hana.</p><p>They quickly crowded her, Zarya placed her particle cannon on the grass and kneeled down in front of Hana, reaching out and pulling Hana into a hug, which made Hana wince, but she returned the hug anyway, "I'm sorry Zar," Hana croaked out.</p><p>Zarya pulled back, a tear welling up in her eye, "you should be! We thought you might have been dead!"</p><p>Hana bit her lip, tears welling up in her own eyes, "I know…"</p><p>"I don't think you do," Angela continued to speak sternly, but when Hana turned to look at her, her face was struggling to stay mad, a tear rolling down her cheek, "when you had disappeared, we had no idea where to look for you." She stepped forward, pulling her into another hug, but this time when Hana winced, Angela noticed, quickly pulling back, "You're injured, where?"</p><p>Hana felt like a waterfall of tears, she sniffled before she spoke, "my rib, I think it's broken."</p><p>Angela's face tightened in concern, "oh Hana…" She reached out to hug her again, this time much more careful."</p><p>Hana then heard another sniffle, turning to look at Lena, who despite crying as much as she was, wore a huge smile, "hey, at least you're safe and back, right love?" The expression on Lena's face only made the grip in her gut that guilt held only tighten, threatening to crush her.</p><p>"Get her back to the hideout immediately," Jack's gruff voice made everyone's heads turn, he walked up, Zenyatta not too far behind.</p><p>Hana breathed in, wiping her nose with her sleeve and forcing herself to stop crying if only just briefly. She pulled away from the hug, offering a small smile to the rest before turning to face Jack, doing her best to roll her shoulders back and stand tall, but teetering ever so slightly. "Jack-"</p><p>Jack raised a palm, "stop right there. I don't want to hear it." He then moved his hand to remove his visor, his eyes stern, but sad, "I want to have you know that I can have you sent home for this kind of behavior."</p><p>Lena glared at him, "Jack is right now really the time?" Despite tear stained eyes she stepped closer, defiant.</p><p>"Lena, it's alright," Hana raised her arm, stopping her from moving any closer to Jack.</p><p>Lena's eyes widened as she turned to Hana, "but-"</p><p>Hana shook her head, which made Lena frown deeply. Hana swallowed hard as she turned back to face Jack, "I understand."</p><p>Jack stared down to Hana, his stern expression faltering into a tired one as she sighed, closing his eyes as he brought his hand up to pinch his nose, "I will not send you home, but if you pull something like this again I will not hesitate."</p><p>Hana simply nodded her head, "I understand."</p><p>Jack dropped his arm, any angry features now replaced with tired worry, "alright," she turned to Lena, "please get her back," he then turned to Angela and Zarya, "and her treated, please."</p><p>They all responded with a nod before moving. All heading back, Lena supporting Hana's weight.</p><p>"I would recommend not punishing Hana too harshly," Zenyatta finally spoke, his voice still a calm hum, "I believe she already is feeling heavy remorse for her mistake."</p><p>Jack sighed as he looked up at the night sky, in the direction in which the dropship had disappeared, "she made an awfully horrendous mistake.</p><p>Zenyatta turned, beginning to make his way back to the hideout, "a mistake she had to make."</p><p>Jack turned back to Zenyatta. Pausing a moment before putting his visor back on and making his way back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Trust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey hey, sorry for another long wait. Good news though, I'm finally back at my computer rather than on my phone, so hopefully these chapters will have a small increase in quality compared the first few. Thank you for being patient, I'm trying to keep the chapters long to make sure you guys have enough to chew on after such long periods of waiting. Anyway, thank you for reading, there will be more soon.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Shitshitshitmierdapinchechingadesos fuck</em>! Sombra paced back and forth with her arms crossed within the Talon dropship, the very one she hacked from an abandoned market store parking lot to transport D.va back to her hideout. Her shoes clicked against the metal floor, her footsteps cutting through the quiet hum of the propellers. She had made sure to disconnect the ship from the talon main frame, as well as using a bit of her own technology to render it untrackable. If she hadn't then it would have been like throwing D.va and her teammates to the wolves. A pack of very angry and starved wolves.</p><p>She let out an exasperated sigh as she lifted up her hand to cover her mouth. She decided to just sit down and think this through. Taking a seat in the same spot D.va had clung to her not but 10 minutes ago, a glimmer of the previously shared body warmth somehow returning with the memory. The sensation although faint somehow calmed Sombra just enough to take in a deep breath and reassess.</p><p>Her foot still anxiously tapped against the floor but her mind began to kick it into high gear. Problem solving was her forte, years of computer code had taught her that there was always a way, even if she had to do it kicking and screaming.</p><p>She had definitely pissed off Akande, she could never really read Gabriel, but the fact that she had practically rescued the enemy, she was sure neither of the grumpy boys were delighted. Of course neither of them know what she had done after, but they would find out that she hadn't killed her eventually. A flat out lie wouldn't help, it would only lead to her torturous execution to send a message to any others who would blatantly lie to high ranking Talon operatives.</p><p>If she could somehow convince them that her decision was in Talon's favor, then she could at least continue to have her head on her shoulders. Of course that would be another lie, she had kept D.va alive for her own very selfish reasons, but could anybody blame her? To survive in this twisted world you had to be selfish, you had to take what was yours and make sure no one takes it back. D.va owed her a few favors by now of course, those favors are valuable, <em>especially</em> if they were from an individual with not only training in one of the best military machinery units, but she had more influence than she realized. Adoring fans will do quite a lot for very little.</p><p>That was definitely the only reason why. She didn't keep the young star alive because of some strange kind of admiration, <em>obviously</em>. Not because her idealistic hope poured out through her streams, despite her exaggerated gamer girl persona. And definitely not because everytime Sombra had the free time, home alone from long and dangerous missions, she would tune in, only to find herself smiling as she watched D.va reach unbelievable win streaks with a fierce but perky smile. And it definitely wasn't because of the lingering warmth she felt in her chest, the same warmth she felt when the younger girl had clung onto her.</p><p>She felt heat rise up her cheeks, <em>focus tonta</em>! She couldn't get distracted now, her life was one the line, and now not only her own, but a whole squad of vigilantes she had somehow promised not to let get hurt. She let out a frustrated groan, how could she be so stupid, survival was her number one objective, it was a lesson she had to learn quickly in her early years. Though she had to keep her word, the world ran on favors, and what is a promise but a more foolish kind of favor.</p><p>She lifted her arm to, waving it horizontally in front of her, bringing her purple holograms to life, the purple light reflecting off the sterile black metal of the ship, overpowering the low red lights. Her eyes flicked back and forth, scanning numbers and details. She watched a few strings in particular. Flashes of text that alerted her that the authorities had made their way to the empty crime scene. Another string alerting her to how long Gabriel and Akande had been waiting back at HQ, trying to minimize the time for their anger to fester. The last string giving her at least a bit of solace, D.va's 'mech' as she called it, was now safely tucked away at her own smaller base of operations. A smirk tugged at her lips, with the MEKA unit in her possession she could finally find out how the thing ticked. Information is the best resource after all, a few ideas of what to do with such information flashing through her mind.</p><p>Her smirk just as quickly fell into a frown, a memory of D.va staring not only longingly and solemnly back to her mech as they left it behind. Sombra was sure she would have seen the girl shed tears then and there, but she didn't, she never did, not until she was sure she was out of danger, <em>and in the arms of some girl</em>. She let out a scoff, but the sudden <em>inexplicable</em> anger fell to melancholy. She reached out her hand, typing into her hexagonal keys, setting out commands to repair the mech, as well as purchase replacements the damaged pieces. It'd be taken care of my her automated system server, as well as her machinery at home. Thought it was nice that the mech could practically walk itself after she had hacked into the control module.</p><p>Her violet eyes drifted to the hanger door. Of course D.va wasn't the happiest when Sombra took control. Frankly she was surprised how easy it was to take a hold of it, she had found remnants of old A.I. code and remote activated protocols that were most likely used from before the MEKA pilots were selected, and simple unmanned drones had kept the omnics at bay. It seemed that the MEKA units were made in a hurry, not that Sombra blamed them, but there was always a price for cutting corners.</p><p>She took one last look of her holograms before waving them away. At this point these things left her control, and she'd have to just wait. Wait for the police to begin their dead end investigation, wait for D.va's MEKA unit to be repaired and inspected, and wait for the stupid airship to take it's damn time getting to HQ. Despite whether or not hee story checks out she's still going to get chewed out. Though, yelling wasn't what scared her, it was a single huge fist that made her grow impatient with the speed of the dropship, specifically a large golden one that could turn her into paste within seconds.</p><p>Sombra shuttered at the thought. She had seen first hand the state Akande would leave his victims. He never left corpses, just pools of blood and red mist. The first time she had bare witness to his bloodlust she had to fight the urge to vomit.</p><p>The man terrified her, he was a tower of cold rage, devoid of mercy or empathy. She could never show it though, that fear was exactly what fueled the man, and the best way to defy him was to pretend that she was not at all bothered by his inevitable presence within the god forsaken militia she's roped herself into. <em>But damn, did they pay well.</em></p><p>She felt the dropship slow, preparing to land. So she stood, rangling in the sheer will she needed to stand and pretend she didn't care, that she was only amused by the death glares and threats. She survived for this long by laughing in the face of danger, and it hadn't failed her yet. <em>It never will</em>.</p><p>The hangar door opened out to the cold black concrete that was the staple of Talon hide outs. <em>I swear they're all so edgy</em>. Though only as if the world were laughing at her, this unwelcoming base only was made colder by the rain that poured onto the dark walkways. Sombra sighed as she stepped out, two talon guards, who weren't anything more than pawns under the cruel grind of the Talon machine, stood on either side of the ship. They stood there as a sign of respect, but they were faced away, almost as if to watch for danger, like the very personnel they guarded weren't the most dangerous criminals known to man.</p><p>Sombra rolled her violet eyes, the cold rain soaking her hair and cloat. She pressed on, fighting the urge to shiver under the bite of the wind. Here she had to demand respect with her actions, with her eyes and expressions, even her walk, for the wolves watched, and they would pounce the moment she'd expose her back. So she walked calmly, despite the rain, despite the cold, despite the fear in her gut, and the urge to leave and never go near this place again.</p><p>She found the next set of pawns, two Talon guards standing watch on either side of a metallic door. They stood tall despite the weather, but Sombra could see their teeth chattering. She stopped in front of them, to which their attention fell onto her, she raised an eyebrow impatiently, placing a hand on her hip. The two guards look to one another and back to her before finally receiving the message. One of them was quicker than the other as it seemed, quickly turning around to open the door, while the other followed his lead and saluted Sombra. This only made her snicker as she stepped past them and into the building.</p><p>It was not at all warmer inside than out, the interiors metallic, dark, and sterile, but at least dry. She took a deep breath, reaching her hands up to squeeze the water out of her hair, the cold rain dripping onto the floor. Still not dry but better. She made her way down the hallway, and into the doorway she had entered so many times before. The last one to the right before the staircase, something she had to remember as the hallway lead to about 10 seperate doors, all of which held secrets that she would be hunted for knowing.</p><p>This room was just as cold as the rest of the base, but this room brought a pang of anxiety as this room held not only Akande, but Gabriel and a beautifully dangerous blue skinned assassin. Widowmaker sat leaning back against her chair, her long legs crossed and placed on the table in front of her, twirling the end of her grapple hook around her finger. Sombra knew her name of course, Amélie Lacroix, but she knew that woman was long dead, the yellow augmented eyes of the woman before her belonged only to Widowmaker as she looked up with a venomous smirk.</p><p>Sombra mentally cursed at her attraction to the woman, who could blame her, she was gorgeous, but that was the exact lure that was used against so many, and Sombra was too smart to bite at the hook. So instead her eyes turned to Gabriel, or as what he ordered the pawns to call him, Reaper. He sat at the head of the table, clawed hands clasped together as they obscured half of his grim mask. He was an angry man, but just as angry as Akande, but his anger was more of a fire, a burn that had been turning his flesh to smoke.</p><p>Yet, neither of the two at the table were the cause of the anxiety in her chest, credit to that fell to the man who was leaning against the wall. Arms that could snap her bones like twigs crossed over his chest. Normally she wouldn't have to worry about Akande, before now it was simply business, but now, the glare he gave her meant anything but. Despite the anger that radiated off him, he remained silent, instead Sombra decided she would beat them to the punch.</p><p>"What's with <em>la araña</em>?" Sombra stepped forward, taking a seat opposite from Gabriel, propping her legs on the table much like Widowmaker.</p><p>The french assassin raised an eyebrow, seemingly unamused, but Gabriel answered for her, "she is here for our briefing. This was not the end of our mission, Sombra." He stood, his heavy boots thumping against the metal floor as he skulked around the table, "in fact, it's only the beginning." He stopped just beside Sombra, placing a claw on her shoulder, "and we would like to continue our mutual exchange."</p><p>The gravel of his voice threatened through her ears into her psyche. They both know what he was doing, Gabriel had grown incredibly skilled in emotional manipulation, and although it could be threatenly effective, Sombra was ready for it. Luckily he didn’t seem to care about D.va. "Sure <em>chico</em>," she leaned her head back to stare into the void of the mask's eyes with a relaxed grin, "if you keep the cash coming, then I'll do what you want, Gabe."</p><p>The skull of a mask stared at her, he was always so good at making someone feel small that when Sombra refused to shrink, it would always render him recalculating his next words. As long as she dismissed him without letting her guard down, there wasn't much he could do without actually hurting her, which meant if he wanted her on their side he'd have to play nice. <em>Growl as much as you'd like perito</em></p><p>Gabriel dropped his arm before stepping away, "We had retrieved the egg," He turned to Widowmaker, who moved her legs off the table with a twirl, standing up and revealing the briefcase she had been hiding. Sombra quirked an eyebrow as she realized the assassin had used a simple diversion to have the hacker not notice the case. A simple diversion Sombra cursed herself mentally for once again, the clever spider used her <em>assets</em> to keep the hacker's eyes darting away after every glimpse. Widowmaker placed the briefcase on the table, giving Sombra a long look as she did so, ending with a wink before she sat back down.</p><p>More emotional manipulation, though now targeted at her sexuality, these fiends were adapting, finding ways to keep Sombra on their side. So Sombra did what came naturally, she winked back, which broke Widowmaker's facade, golden eyes suddenly shooting her a glare. The hacker smirked as she turned her attention to the case, "egg huh? <em>Que mas necesitas?</em>" Her violet eyes looked up to Gabriel, fighting the tension of the room with a smirk.</p><p>Gabriel moved forward and opened the briefcase, of which held a single computer chip the size of a fingernail. The rest of the case itself was padding as well as pomp and circumstance, "the egg won't hatch without the incubator." He stared at the chip for a few more moments before returning it to it's slot in the case, "but first we need you to find where it is."</p><p>Sombra narrowed her eyes, "so, you brought me here to tell me you want to do some information gathering?"</p><p>Gabriel turned to face her, he placed his claws on the table, the void behind his mask staring her down, "I want you to find the incubator and also repair it."</p><p>"Repair it? How do you know it's broken if you don't know where it is?" Sombra did not cower, standing tall against the wolves.</p><p>"Because," Gabriel reached his claw out towards Akande, who pushed off the wall before handing him a fragment of what seemed to be a metal cylinder, "I have one piece of it," he placed the fragment on the table.</p><p>Sombra looked over to Akande, his glare had never died down, he had been staring her down the entire time, and that was the one thing that did make Sombra falter, even for just a moment. She cleared her throat as she moved her legs off the table. She diverted her attention away from Akande and onto the fragment, picking it up and inspecting it. The outer shell was a sleek black that bore a few cracks, but the inside was snapped motherboards ,ripped wires and ribbons, to which Sombra couldn't help but whistle at, "who ripped this apart?"</p><p>"A very annoying monkey," Gabriel growled.</p><p><em>Ah right</em>, the gorilla scientist. "I can do it," Sombra placed the fragment back on the table, turning her attention to Gabriel, "for a price."</p><p>Akande stepped forward, seemingly ready to rip her apart, but a claw stopped him, "deal," Gabriel moved to close the briefcase. Akande on the other hand seemed about ready to pounce.</p><p>Gabriel handed the briefcase to Widowmaker, who took it gracefully, and turned to Sombra, "one other thing Sombra."</p><p>She quirked an eyebrow in response, "<em>que queires</em>?"</p><p>"We will be having another meeting, with the other branches of Talon," he chuckled to himself, "so be there, and wear something nice." He stepped past Sombra, brushing past her shoulder before leaving through the door behind her.</p><p>Widowmaker stood, stepping around the table, the sway of her hips and the clicks of her shoes against the floor moving just past Sombra, the door opening then closing behind her, signaling to Sombra that she remained alone in a room with <em>him</em>.</p><p>Sombra stood, making sure to keep her nonchalant exterior despite the anxiety in her chest. She faced Akande, now prepared for his angry glare, only to be taken aback once again. He stared at her, with a wide wicked grin. He wore the same pants and sash across his hips, only now with bandages across his torso and under his arms.Despite his injury, he stepped forward, towering over Sombra again, a trick he had done so many times before, but the grin on his lips and the bloodlust in his eyes made Sombra almost crumble.</p><p>She took a single step back, but any sign of retreat is what a wolf looks for, the moment to strike was the instant prey looked ready to run. Akande's grin widened, he began to cackle a deep thunderous laugh. He made her flinch, he made a crack in her facade, this time he had her on the run. So instead he took a step past her, his shoulder shoving hers out of the way, making her wince.</p><p>The door opened and closed behind her and left her by herself. She could hear her own rapid heartbeat, the anxiety in her chest had increased ten fold. Her knees almost gave out but she refused to fall, so instead she moved out of the room, out the doors and into the rain. It had somehow gotten colder, she rubbed her arms as she watched her breath form vapor, she looked around and noticed that even the pawns were gone. She was alone and she was grateful for that so she hurried back to her dropship.</p><p>She found it in the same place, the hanger door still open and absolutely no one around, that should have been her first warning, but she was ready to just get out of here and somewhere not so damn cold. So she stepped into the dropship, letting out a relieved sigh as it protected her from the rain, but another cold just as quickly wrapped around her heart as she realized she wasn't alone.</p><p>Akande sat in <em>the</em> spot, the same spot D.va had been in previously, the fleeting warmth of the memory drowned out by the mere presence of Doomfist.</p><p>He leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed, "so this ship is just another thing you stole from us?"</p><p>Sombra couldn't help but sneer, "what do you want from me Punchy?" She just wanted to get out of here, but the only way was through.</p><p>Akande scoffed as he stood taking a look around the dropship as if he had never been in one, "what do I want?" He turned his stone cold eyes to stare her down, "all I want is for the weak to perish Sombra."</p><p>Sombra stood her ground, despite herself, "is that all you ever say, <em>menzo</em>?"</p><p>Akande took one step forward, "unfortunately I have to repeat myself because you don't seem to understand." He took another step, slowly closing the gap between the two, "Sombra I respected you, you had survived this long in our world." He took one last step, towering over her once again, his signature move it seemed, "I assumed you had the strength to live, and let the weak die, but you are just like them."</p><p>Sombra refused to flinch again, she couldn't ever show her fear, and she'd be damned if she would make the same mistake twice in one day. But Akande seemed to know, as his hand wrapped around her throat and he proceeded to slam her against the wall of the dropship within mere seconds. Sombra couldn't help but cough as she brought her hands up, grabbing onto his wrist, trying in vain to tear away from his grip.</p><p>"You Sombra, are weak, and so is the girl you somehow convinced Gabriel to let you spare," Akande whispered, as Sombra stared death in the face with wide violet eyes, her hands now weakly pulling at his arm as no air made it to her lungs. "The weak will die Sombra, that is how the world continues."</p><p>Akande released his grip as Sombra fell onto the metal floor, gasping for air and coughing. She landed on all fours, all sense of bravado shattered. She slammed her fist against the floor, "fuck you! <em>Chinga tu madre, pinche perro</em>!" She tried to scream, but it was hoarse and barely audible over the heavy rain outside.</p><p>Akande simply chuckled, as he faced away from her and out into the rain, "the strong will prevail Sombra. Unfortunately we still have use for you, so view this as your second chance." He glanced over his shoulder, "you must become strong, or I'll kill you myself when the time comes." He turned his head back as he began to walk away and out into the rain, "and as for your little rabbit, next time I won't let you get in the way, so you better keep her out of my sight."</p><p>Sombra was left by herself, struggling to find her breath. She lowered herself to place her forehead against the cold metal of the floor, "damnit," she hissed as she forced herself to find the strength to stand. So she pushed off the floor, teetering a bit as a concussion left her dizzy. Reached out her hand and just as she wanted to type her hexagonal hologram keys appeared before her hand, a feature she designed for moments where every second mattered, and it did, because she wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. She typed in a few quick commands, the gunship responded instantly, the hanger door closing as it prepared to take off.</p><p>She placed a hand against the wall to steady herself, but eventually gave up trying to find a seat. She leaned her back against the wall before sliding down and sitting on the floor. Her arms rested perched on her knees as her head hung low. She couldn't find it in her to move, she just breathed as she stared at the cold metal below her. She was so cold still, the rain water still made her hair stick to her face, her coat was also drenched adding extra weight onto her shoulders.</p><p>She had pissed Akande- no she had pissed Doomfist off by sparing D.va. The man's twisted life views had to be enforced and pushed onto others, and currently it seemed like her very existence was the antithesis to his psychotic rules. She spat at the thought, strength meant shit, you had to be clever to live, but that didn't mean Sombra would cull the stupid. Not if they could be used.</p><p>She heard a notification noise come from her pocket. Her eyes narrowed as she pulled out the burner phone she forgot she had. Sombra wasn't expecting any messages from her any time soon, she had assumed the <em>tonta</em> had learned her lesson. At this point she wasn't willing to give out any more information, especially now that they both had Akande's sights on their backs. Not that the girl could do anything anytime soon, not with the injuries she had sustained, and not without her mech, <em>so what does she want</em>?</p><p>CouchPotato: Hey.</p><p>CouchPotato: If you're not busy would you like to play a few rounds with me?</p><p>Sombra's violet eyes widened. She couldn't help to chuckle and shake her head, "<em>tonta</em>..." She shifted, a new sudden but almost negligible warmth in her chest gave her the strength to slowly stand, using the wall to steady herself. She found a seat, slowly lowering herself onto it before returning her attention to the phone. A small smirk tugging at her lips.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: Sure, I won't be at my setup until later though, so start without me.</p><p>Sombra watched as three small dots appeared almost instantly, a brief period of D.va writing a response, only for the dots to disappear for a few seconds to seemingly retype.</p><p>CouchPotato: I'll just wait.</p><p>Sombra’s head tilted in curiosity, the smirk on her lips widening. She let her head lean back and rest against the wall behind her. The warmth in her chest slowly swelled, though the cold walls around her and the slowly developing headache seemed to drown it out in Sombra’s mind. She hadn’t played a match against the one and only D.va in a while. Recently the gamer girl had been more interested in collecting information on Talon. Sombra couldn’t help but notice how much she had missed the opportunity to play against the best in the world at her own respective game. Though she quickly pushed the thought down, she instead decided that playing a game would be a nice distraction from the shit hole she had dug herself.</p><p>She looked back down at her burner phone, eyeing the last message D.va had sent her. Pondering whether or not she should reply back, but she felt the urge to. Her hand moved before she could think, quickly sending a message that eluded even herself.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: Thank you.</p><p>She watched her phone, no response came, D.va hadn’t even started typing, leaving the words jumbling around her head. <em>Thank you</em>? <em>Porque eres tan tonta</em>? She groaned as her shoulders slumped, she wished she could just delete it, but the messaging app they were both using was beginning to be a bit outdated in design. An outdated chatting system that had been abandoned by its original devs, only now to be used as a discrete form of communication between those in the less than legal business. The very same one she was currently watching like a desperate high strung teenager.</p><p>The next message came before the system could notify that D.va had even started typing.</p><p>CouchPotato: No problem.</p><p>Sombra felt a bit of anxiety untangle in her gut as she saw the response. Though it was simple it was just enough to make Sombra smirk. She waved her arm to summon her holograms, inputting a few more commands and watching strings of text return in compliance, letting her know that the computer in her room had been turned on remotely.</p><p>Her smirk didn’t last long as she remembered the threat Akande had directed toward not only herself but D.va as well. She couldn’t get D.va and her teammates hurt, a promise that only seemed to become more and more impossible as she thought about it. She was the enemy, hell she had even socked Sombra in the face earlier in the day, but somehow she felt a giddy energy build as she thought about playing a few games with her. That giddiness would swell every time a warm memory flashed in her brain, memories that would come and go on their own. D.va’s tight grip as she hid her face in Sombra’s shoulder.</p><p>She just had to figure out a method to make the knuckleheads happy and keep D.va out of their way. <em>I’ll figure it out, I always do</em>. The ship shifted as it came to a halt before it began to lower to the ground. Sombra let out a tired sigh as she stood, a dull pang of pain in her skull had her placing a hand on the side of her head, as if it would be the remedy. The hanger door opened up to a night that still rained. A pained smirk appeared on Sombra’s face as she looked past the rain and to a simple cabin at the edge of the clearing. Forest stretched out for miles in all directions. One of Sombra’s many hideouts, though this one was the most quiet, exactly what she needed.</p><p>She stepped out into the rain, the cold enveloping her one last time before she entered the cabin. She walked up the steps to the porch, the canopy protecting her from the rain. She walked up to the wooden door, a screen placed beside it was in stark contrast to the wooden exterior of the building. She placed her palm against the screen, it lit up around her hand as the door’s lock clicked open. She pushed in and instantly felt a wave of warmth. The interior felt spacious, as there was only a few pieces of furniture. The floor was carpeted a deep purple, to her left was a small kitchen, and on her right was the living room, with a couch, love seat, coffee table and a TV.</p><p>She closed her eyes and let her back lean against the door, she took in a deep breath as she felt worries begin to slip away, now that she was home safe. She pushed off the door and started making her way to the bathroom. A warm shower sounded like a good remedy to her rain damped clothes and hair. She stripped on her way there, leaving a trail of soaked discarded articles of clothing from the front door to the bathroom.</p><p>The sudden cold from the transition from bare feet on carpet to tiles made a small shiver run up Sombra’s spine, but it was a different kind of cold. A cold she didn’t mind as she started the shower, letting the water heat up for a few seconds, checking the temperature with her hand as she watched the droplets fall and swirl into the drain. The water quickly began to steam up the room, the water was almost burning as she preferred it, always helped with drowning out worries.</p><p>She stepped into the stream, the water enveloping her like a nice hot embrace that almost instantly relaxed her tense muscles. She would bother with actually washing up in the moment, she just wanted to stand in the hot water forever. She leaned her shoulder against the wall, letting her head rest against the same tiles. Memories and thoughts flashed through her head as they always did, her mind was like a computer that was always running multiple processes. Though she could never really shut this one off, even while sleeping as her dreams never seemed to let her rest completely unconscious,</p><p>She cycled through the worrying thoughts, she was definitely now in danger, but this wasn’t the first time she was threatened, and it definitely wasn’t the first time she felt like the world was against her. She’d figure it out of course, as long as she still breathed she’d think, and thinking got her this far. As she schemed, brainstorming for a method to get psycho punchy off her back her thoughts drifted to a brunette.</p><p>The same brunette that had invited her to play a match in their game, and with that thought Sombra moved. Now with a sense of urgency of not letting her gaming partner wait too long she washed up, letting the warm shower clear off the cold rain water and dirt that she had collected in her hair and skin. While lathering up her hand grazed over her neck, which stung making her flinch. She paused as she used her hands to carefully check her bruised neck, she felt the small stings of pain and she pressed lightly against the swelling. Sombra groaned as she knew this would make wearing her usual attire a bit more uncomfortable, as well as knowing full well that it wouldn’t look too great if not covered up.</p><p>Her memories flashed an image of Akande’s hand around her neck which almost made her slip. She steadied herself against the wall as she growled at herself, “get a hold of yourself <em>chica</em>.” She let out a frustrated breath.</p><p>Once done she dressed up in comfortable clothing, letting her hair air dry as she collected her drenched clothing and tossing them into a dryer. Once done she made her way to her room, one that was small, but cozy. The only light came from the purple LED light coming from the tower computer underneath a simple desk. The top of the same desk adorned with multiple monitors, a glowing purple mouse and keyboard and a nice comfortable desk chair. The rain tapped against the window just above her full sized bed, such bed seemingly untouched with simple black sheets, the trees outside the window not letting in much moonlight.</p><p>Sombra stretched as she walked over to her desk, dropping into her chair and reaching out to turn on the monitors, all of which turned on simultaneously with low light settings that wouldn’t strain her eyes in the dark. The game was already open on her desktop, so she clicked on her friends list, clicked on the only favorited name and sent a whisper.</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: Hey, I’m ready. You still there?</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: Oh good, I was beginning to think you tripped and knocked yourself out.</p><p>Sombra chuckled</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: You watch too many old cartoons.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: Hey, they’re better than what garbage they make these days.</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: If you say so.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: I do say so!</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: We gonna game or what?”</p><p>Sombra rolled her eyes as she snickered, “impatient as always <em>chica</em>.”</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: Sure.</p><p>Sombra couldn’t help but smile, it wouldn’t help even if she did try to push it down. She was blissfully unaware of the effect that D.va had on her. As the night rolled on and game after game was played between the two, Sombra could feel her cheeks hurting from the hours of smiles and snickers, not that she thought too hard about what it meant, only that it was a nice distraction.</p><p> </p><p>ㅇㅅㅇ One Week Later ㅇㅅㅇ</p><p> </p><p>Sombra was never a big fan of dresses, they were usually more expensive than her usual casual wear, they got in the way and sacrificed mobility, and the hungry stares they would attract would always worsen her mood. In her line of work it was never good to have a full room of men with their eyes on you.</p><p><em>But damn do I look good</em>.</p><p>She smirked at herself in the mirror, a sleek dress in her preferred deep purple with a deep v that ended just above her stomach, revealing a planned amount of distracting cleavage. A simple thin black belt that hugged against her waist, a slit that opened just halfway up her left thigh revealing her long tanned legs through the front as the back of the dress hovered just above the ground. Ending with a pair of matching purple heels.</p><p>The bathroom she had ducked into was way too fancy compared to what she was used to. <em>Even the damn bathrooms are dressed for show</em>. The floor was spotless, the beige clean tiles made the white columns that held up each white stall door seem even brighter. Each sink was a bright white porcelain, each mirror above framed with white flowery filigree.</p><p>The decor made her feel claustrophobic. She was used to the lies that Talon liked to feed her, all of it was always translucent to the hacker, and to be surrounded by a very clear, clean, and illustrious pile of lies that would obscure their intent from the unaware world. After all, like Gabriel had said, ‘it’s just a party.’</p><p>Sombra pulled on her mask, the bravado filled with smirks and sass that could keep the wolves at bay, and pushed out the bathroom to a large ball room that made the bathroom look like the dirty streets of Dorado, Mexico in comparison.</p><p>The tiled floors were a clean white, which accented the many expensive black dress shoes and heels that almost seemed to use their height to fight for dominance, Sombra snickered at the thought. The multiple round tables covered with white cloths, adorned with glass vases that all held roses, <em>how original</em>. Wine glasses dominated the table space, as well as almost every hand within the building.</p><p>The roof was high above them, held up by thin arched white columns that also held glass chandeliers. The walls between such columns were adorned with deep red curtains that were held open to reveal the soft flowery painted walls. It all made Sombra scoff, for an organization that held some of the deadliest killers in the world, they really did like to go for the girly decor.</p><p>Though again, she knew it was all a ruse to keep out those without the keen eyes to notice the fake smirks and laughs of the rich businessmen and women who all mingled with toxic intent behind their eyes. Here they discussed what they didn’t want the world to know, deals and trades that always involved a lot of money and illegal activities.</p><p>This was definitely not Sombra’s crowd, not that she ever really did have a crowd, despite her time with one gang. No, it was always her, on her own, with anything she could manage to survive and stay alive. She could only rely on herself and her favors, because without that, she’d been dead long ago.</p><p>”It’s nice to see you here Sombra.” The hacker was caught off guard, her eyes widened as her head flicked to her side. There stood a tall, thin and pale, her height ever more obvious due to her perfect posture. Dressed in black slacks, dress shoes, white button shirt and a black tie, a black vest to hug her skinny frame. Her sleeves were rolled up to reveal her thin arms and long fingers that held up a glass of wine. Her shock of red hair slicked back as always.</p><p>Sombra’s eyes narrowed, “lying is not going to help you here, <em>señora</em>.” She felt her arms cross below her chest instinctively, this woman had always found a way to get under her skin and irk her with a sense of unease.</p><p>Moira took a sip of her wine, “but it is not a lie Sombra.” She stared out into the crowd with her two tone eyes, the same ones that Sombra couldn’t help but always notice, even if they were always narrowed with a sense of disdain. “I am not one for crowds, and I can tell you are not either,” her eyes now directed themselves to the hacker, almost softening in the process, “I can see a lot of me in you, I cannot wait to see what you are capable of.”</p><p>Sombra held Moria’s gaze, a smirk tugging at her lips out of practice, “sorry, but I don’t see the resemblance.” Her eyes rolled down to Moira’s attire. The two contrasted each other due their difference in not only clothing, but features.</p><p>Moira let out a dry laugh, one that almost seemed playful, “of course I did not mean physically, Sombra. We do have a lot of similarities if you simply look past the masks.”</p><p>Sombra quirked an eyebrow at Moira’s word choice, and if only to prove her point Moira caught the attention of a tall blonde woman across the room, one she flashed a smirk and a wink at. A hint of red crawled up to Sombra’s ears as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, though she couldn’t help but smirk.</p><p>”Either way, I am quickly going to become busy,” Moira turned back to give Sombra an exasperated look, “many do want to fund more of my research now that they’ve seen what I am capable of without…” Moira paused to finish the rest of her wine, “restrictions.” She turned back to the crowd to depart, pausing for a moment, “oh and Sombra.” She placed her glass on a nearby table as she adjusted her tie, “do be careful, it would be a shame to lose a potential ally due to the immature grudges of men.”</p><p>Sombra was left to herself, she watched as Moira left the empty glass discarded at the table as she slipped into the conversation of a ring of businessmen, almost immediately taking command of the conversation. The hacker was unsure of what to make of the woman now, she had never bothered to learn more about her aside from what she could do, and that she could do it well.</p><p><em>She’s definitely still creepy though</em>.</p><p>Sombra heard another set of footsteps that were not as skilled in moving quietly, only helping her realize the unnatural quiet Moira moved with in comparison. Though this time it was a bus boy who had approached her, a young dark skinned man with short hair, “would you like something to drink ma’am?” He held a plate full of glasses of champagne on one hand.</p><p>Sombra smirked, “boring party huh? I was expecting more strobe lights and blaring music.” Her eyes swept across the crowd, “at least in a rave I wouldn’t have to listen to <em>chisma</em>.”</p><p>A deep but subdued laugh came from the boy, his eyes staring at the glasses placed on the plate, “sorry ma’am, but I am not allowed to make such comments about the guests,” he looked over his shoulder with a sigh, “no matter how true.”</p><p>Sombra let out a laugh of her own, she patted the boy on the shoulder, “I like you kid,” she pointed a finger straight at his face, to which his eyes crossed to stare it, “watch your back, people here are snakes.”</p><p>She noticed a blue skinned spider appear from behind a set of large white doors, pulling hungry glances and stares. She either didn’t seem to notice or care as her yellow eyes locked onto the hacker, waving for her to follow her.</p><p>Sombra’s eyes narrowed, she grabbed a glass of champagne, quickly downing it as she began to move towards Widowmaker, “that’s my queue kid, catch you later.” She placed the empty glass on a table, making her way past her own set of stares in stride. Once close enough she could make out exactly what the assassin was wearing. Her dark raven hair was tied up in a long ponytail, her spider visor still placed on her head, but she wore a simple black silken dress that hugged her figure, another intentional web for the flies too stupid to care.</p><p>Widowmaker raised her chin as she opened the door for Sombra which led into a private room that Sombra knew held the few choice individuals who were the most dangerous she had ever met. But they also paid well so she stepped forward and walked into the wolf den with a practiced smirk and a playful mask.</p><p>The first voice to meet Sombra’s ears was synthetic, yet smooth and very articulate. An omnic in a black suit and red tie that matched the colors of his metallic exterior. Sombra knew who he was, simply because he held the most money. Maximilien was the largest investor Talon had, so the wolves would play nice and wag their tails, knowing that he’d throw them a golden bone. Sombra wasn’t much different, though she luckily hardly ever had to deal with him personally, just his money, something she would like to continue.</p><p>As the doors closed behind her Widowmaker walked past the hacker, leaving her behind in the small dimly lit hallway that opened up to a larger room, one with a long center table with many chairs. Many sat, a few stood, Sombra preferred the latter as she approached the conversation, instead crossing her arms on the back of her chair, leaning forward as she smirked at the individuals who gave her passing, but judging glances.</p><p>Akande and Moira were the other two who stood, Akande flashed Sombra a threatening grin as he stood in his predictable pose, arms crossed over his chest, the bandages now gone and instead replaced by burn marks along his sides, not that he seemed to care. Moira kept her attention on the conversation, simply nodding to Sombra to acknowledge her presence before taking a sip from her glass.</p><p>Gabriel sat near the head of the table, his usual spot taken by Maximilien. The sight made Sombra grin, <em>teacher’s pet</em>. His gravelly voice traveled across the room, only intermittent by smooth robotic vocals. Maximilien himself sat with his back straight, one hand clasped over the other, an oversized security guard closely behind dressed in matching attire. <em>Que lindo</em></p><p>The conversation continued without her, she only ever attended these gatherings to show her ‘allegiance,’ as Gabriel put it. Of course if she hadn’t shown up it would've been a sign of weakness, of fear, and she couldn’t have that, though that didn’t make these meetings any less boring. A buzz just under her chest snapped her out of her boredom, she had kept the thing on her for the entirety of the past week, and now the burner phone was slipped into a hidden pocket in her dress. A smile tugged at her lips, ever since that rather unfortunate night the two had been talking more and more, at first it was about the games they played, then other things and eventually just whatever seemingly came to mind.</p><p>Sombra of course had made sure to stay careful, make sure that D.va had no clue who it was behind the name, not that the brunette really pushed, they both seemed happy simply conversing over text. The hacker knew that it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, especially since the threats that were directed not only at her, but at D.va too, but she couldn’t help herself. Everytime she received a notification, she smirked.</p><p>That smirk did not go unnoticed, “Sombra,” Gabriel’s gravelly voice made Sombra’s eyes snap back up from her thoughtless gaze, “have you been paying any attention?” All eyes shot to her, even Moira’s uninterested gaze fell onto the hacker as she took another sip from her drink.</p><p>Sombra scoffed and waved him off, “yeah yeah, <em>chico</em>. You want his money, he wants you to head his beck and call. More of the usual.” She saw Moira smirk from her periphery.</p><p>Gabriel grumbled as he shifted, but a metal arm stopped him, as well as a deep synthetic chuckle, “Sombra is it?” Maximilien spoke, his unreadable omnic features pointed straight at her. She couldn’t help but narrow her eyes, “I have heard of your abilities, a good hacker?”</p><p>Sombra’s chin rose as she grinned, “best in the world, <em>jefe</em>.”</p><p>”Hmm,” Maximilien nodded, “I cannot wait to interact with you more, dear.” He chuckled, his shoulders bouncing only slightly as he did, “you seem very interesting.”</p><p><em>How about no</em>, “likewise Maxie,” she pushed off the chair and stood tall, “as long as you keep the money coming.” She placed her hand on her hip, another buzz just below her chest making her a bit more impatient than usual, “are we done here?”</p><p>Maximilien chuckled, “no, but I see that you are ready to leave,” he stood, raising a finger at his oversized bodyguard that attempted to follow, making the brawny man pause and wait like a dog, “how about a <em>favor</em>, yes?”</p><p>Sombra quirked an eyebrow at the word, now he was talking her language, “depends.” She watched as the omnic stepped forward, pausing just to raise a phone.</p><p>He grabbed her hand, his fingers cold, and placed the device in her palm, “I may have some jobs for you. If you do them then I will make sure that you won’t have to attend any of these meetings again.” He stepped back and fixed his tie.</p><p>Sombra gave him an expecting look, “doesn’t seem like a very fair trade,” she looked down to inspect the phone, it was a very new model, one he simply just gave away, “I’d rather stay bored than be under your thumb.” Her violet eyes looked back up to match the glowing red dots on his face, “sorry, not sorry, <em>jefe</em>.”</p><p>Maximilien let out another chuckle, “do not worry Sombra, you would be free to pick and choose with jobs you’d like to do. Just know that I’d pay for every successful job well done,” he made his way back to his chair, his body builder guard dog pulling his seat back for him to sit in, “and I pay very handsomely,” he added as he made himself comfortable.</p><p>Sombra’s eyes narrowed at the omnic as she pondered. She then looked down at the phone then back to the rest of the occupants of the room, “well, you heard him, I’m out,” she grinned as she waved a peace sign.</p><p>As she turned away she heard a familiar gravelly voice, “sir…”</p><p>A calm synthetic voice quelled Gabriel’s concerns, “do not worry, I have it under control.”</p><p>Sombra rolled her eyes as she slipped the new phone into another hidden pocket in her dress, she pushed past the crowd and out of the building, back into the busy streets. Outside a black car waited for her, one she had made her way here with. Once in the driver seat she pulled out her burner phone.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: Hey loser, you there?</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: Seriously, where do you keep disappearing to?</p><p>Sombra shook her head, unaware of the smirk pulling at her lips.</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: It’s not wrong to be busy sometimes.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: With your APM? I just assumed you just hole up in your basement all the time.</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: That seems more applicable to you, friend.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: Touché.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: But really, I thought we were supposed to play again tonight.</p><p>Sombra turned on her car, the AC and radio powering on as she got ready to leave.</p><p>[MoradoMarauder]: You’re addicted.</p><p>[CouchedPotato]: I’m not the only one~.</p><p>The hacker chuckled as she rolled her eyes, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat, pulling out of the driveway and making her way back to one of her hide outs. A small warmth in her chest kept the smirk on her face from dying down.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Conflict</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Waits are getting longer huh? My bad. This chapter was initially something I was very excited for, but I struggled so much trying to finish it. Again if I mull over every little detail it'll never get finished so I gotta just keep on chugging. Hope you guys enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hana stared at her monitor, one line of text in particular.</p><p>MoradoMaurader: How about we call it a favor, <em>amiga</em></p><p>She sat perched on her ergonomic chair, one leg pulled up to her chest, one hand on her knee and the other holding up her head as she leaned forward onto her desk. Her fingers softly tapped on her cheek as she pondered. She knew what she heard from Sombra sounded familiar, but could Marauder really be her?</p><p>It made sense, even to the color choice and use of spanish, but that was the issue, it made too much sense. Maybe Hana was overthinking it, but not thinking isn’t something you do when it comes to the most infamous hacker she’s ever heard of. Though there were also many things that did not make any sense at all.</p><p>If Sombra was Marauder, she knew at this point that Sombra was already working with Talon, so why give Hana any information? She would’ve guessed that the hacker wanted her money, but recently she hadn’t even bothered to accept cash. She started to chew on her thumbnail, a nervous habit she tried to kick but never managed to.</p><p>Hana’s eyebrows narrowed as her eyes trailed down to her keyboard absentmindedly. If Marauder really was Sombra, then it’d be too obvious, and from what Hana heard of the hacker, she was usually smarter than that. So then what would be her goal? It wasn’t money, Marauder had yet to even ask anything in return for their favors. Hana had even started talking to them more over the past week, trying to find anything that would ease her confusion and suspicion, but their conversation hadn’t solved either. Though she might have been to blame for that herself, she often found herself too enthralled in their conversations and games.</p><p>Too many factors, too many what ifs, and too many strange feelings that would bubble up from time to time. The memory of clutching onto Sombra’s coat in the dropship haunted Hana, it almost made her feel giddy, a kind of giddy she had experienced once before, and a kind of giddy she didn’t want to harbor for the <em>enemy</em>. Every time her mind would wander and remind her of Sombra’s striking yet alluring violet eyes she would feel a drop in her stomach as she batted the thoughts and feelings away.</p><p>It was all just too confusing, the anxiety of suspicion, the giddy of attraction, the guilt of mistakes, and the worry for the possibility of more stupid mistakes in the future. It all swirled and mixed in her stomach. She just wished things were simple, she wished that she hated Sombra just as much as she hated the rest of them, she wanted to, but she just couldn’t. She wished she hadn’t been an idiot and got herself almost killed, she wished she hadn’t worried her allies- her friends… She let out a shaky sigh</p><p>”Watcha bummed out about, love?” Hana nearly jumped out of her seat as she let out a surprised yelp, turning around her chair in the process to find Lena standing there, her big brown eyes filled with worry.</p><p>Hana felt a sudden pain in her side, her hand instinctively covering it as if it would help. Her other hand just as quickly turning off the monitor, “just- just losing subscriber growth, cause I haven’t been streaming much lately.” She felt awful lying straight to Lena’s face, but she couldn’t worry Lena more than she already had.</p><p>Lena’s eyebrows etched together as she leaned forward, gently pulling Hana’s hand away from her injury and checking it herself, “you remember what Angie said, right? You gotta sit straight or else you might displace the bone, dummy.” Hana’s eyes darted away, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.</p><p>”Yeah I heard, <em>eonni</em>.” Hana’s eyes returned back to face Lena once the older felt satisfied enough with their inspection to pull away, “I just forget sometimes you know?”</p><p>Lena gave a worried smirk, “the sub thing’s got you that worried huh?” She walked back over to her own bed on the other side of the small room. She sat on the edge of the mattress her hands clasped on her lap, “I wouldn’t mind setting up the whole green screen thing again for you, love.”</p><p>Hana felt another pang of guilt, so instead she just waved Lena off, “Nah don’t worry about it.” She pulled on her mask, just for long enough to flash a confident smirk, “nothing I can’t make up later. Plus I don’t know if my fans would want to see me with this.” She softly tapped on the brace strapped across her shirt. She also was currently wearing a comfy T-shirt with some anime print, and sweatpants, not exactly how she wanted to present herself to the world.</p><p>Lena let out her own sigh as she stared at the brace, one that made Hana’s mask crumble into more guilt, “alright, just let me know if you need anything from me alright?” Lena’s sheer sincerity made Hana squirm in her seat.</p><p>Hana pouted playfully, furrowing her brows but not being able to hide the small inklings of a smile, “Lena, I’ll be fine, it’s just a rib,” her own strange sense of humor inked through as she pointed at her side, “I can grow new ones, how cool is that?”</p><p>Lena let out a bout of poorly restrained giggles as she picked up a pillow and tossed it at Hana, “you’re a weirdo, did’yannow that?”</p><p>Hana smirked, enjoying the fact that Lena no longer wore such a worrying expression, instead she decided to keep going, “oh really? I guess I never noticed, I was too busy growing ribs.”</p><p>”Oh whatever! If you could grow ribs this whole time why didn’t I know about it before?”</p><p>”Cause I never needed to grow one until now, duh!”</p><p>Lena threw another pillow, which Hana caught this time thanks to her above average reflexes. Their giggles slowly began to die down, to which Hana panicked. She didn’t want the smiles and laughs to go, if they were gone then there’d only be worried frowns.</p><p>So she quickly turned and grabbed two controllers from a cabinet under her desk. She swiveled the chair back to face Lena, one arm outstretched as she offered one of the controllers, “we haven’t played in a while, do you want to?”</p><p>The brit blinked, a moment of minor whiplash due to Hana’s quick motion and offer, but a grin crawled onto Lena’s face, her chestnut brown eyes lighting up, “oh you are on!” She pushed off the bed, and snatched the controller out of her hand</p><p>Hana couldn’t help but giggle, slowly standing to give Lena her seat, something she had always done when the two played, but in a moment of memory lapse she felt pain in her sigh, causing her to gasp and sit back down.</p><p>The worried look Hana was trying so hard to avoid crept onto Lena’s face again, she instantly set the controller on the desk and placed her hands on Hana’s shoulders, “maybe you should sit this time?”</p><p>As Hana stared up at Lena’s worry, a long sigh escaped her lips as she shrugged, “alright fine.” She then directed a playful smirk, “but you’re gonna wish you were sitting, cause my victory is gonna give you dizzy,” she barked, out of desperation to get Lena to look at her with <em>any</em> other expression.</p><p>Luckily the spunky brit also had a competitive streak so she bought it, her face hardening into a playful determination, “you wish!” She moved with an energy that baffled most, even with her chronal accelerator propped up against her bed her movement was blinding. Within the second she had her controller back in her hand and sat on a wooden stool Hana had no idea they had.</p><p>The younger girl had long since stopped questioning how Lena managed such things, as questioning only was met with playful deflections. So instead she placed her controller on her lap and reached out to turn on her monitor. Her heart sped up as she realized why she had turned it off in the first place, her private messages with MoradoMarauder were revealed front and center, but only for a few milliseconds. Hana alt-tabbed in a flash, bringing forth her gaming library instead.</p><p>She turned to the brit, hoping that Lena hadn’t read anything, though she was met with an amused smirk. “Awe hun! You shouldn’t be ashamed of your girlfriend!”</p><p>Hana knew she was only teasing, but it made her choke on her own air, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she coughed. The younger girl grabbed her own side as coughing hurt, which made Lena’s smirk drop into a frown. Hana quickly bounced back with her own response, trying to keep the mood light, “pfft what are you jealous?”</p><p>The brit’s face scrunched up, a smile peeked through her feigned disgust, “not in a million years!” She absentmindedly lightly shoved Hana’s shoulder, to which the younger girl bit down the pain she felt from being pushed just so that Lena would continue to smile.</p><p>Hana opened their favorite game Fighters of the Storm 2. It was pure muscle memory as she blasted through the main menu, both of them selecting their characters within seconds. As the match started with a perky announcer who counted them down Hana eyebrows couldn’t help but pinch in wards, both of concentration and because of the thoughts that continued to pour through her mind with Lena’s focused silence.</p><p>”Hey<em>eonni</em>?” Hana couldn’t help but break the silence, she bit her lip as she chose her words wisely, meanwhile her hands moved through muscle memory, a single hit crouching jab lead into a 19 hit combo.</p><p>Lena’s brow furrowed but the comforting tone of her voice contrasted her frustration, “yeah, love?”</p><p>The younger girl felt her face begin to warm up, “have you ever-...” she paused again, still trying to find the best words to use, in the process catching Lena in another combo and finishing off the first round, to which the brit let out a whimper. Hana turned to Lena for a second, “have you ever felt like… felt romantic towards someone you shouldn’t?”</p><p>The brit flashed her a bemused smirk as she started the next match, “Hana, is this- are you-?”</p><p>Hana’s eyes widened as her face flushed red, “<em>Aniyo</em>! Nononono! Not that you’re not pretty, but no I’m not into you- not that there’s anything wrong with you! You’re like super pretty, but-”</p><p>The brit burst into a fit of giggles, pausing the match just as it started, “relax! I’m just punkin’ ya!” She leaned back as her giggles turned into laughter, one that was caught short by a pillow smacking her face, the same one Hana had caught earlier</p><p>The younger girl glared at her, the bright red of her face betraying her anger, to which Lena only laughed harder at, “you’re awful!”</p><p>Lena suppressed her giggles as her expression softened, “but uh, yeah, I have definitely felt feelings for girls I shouldnt’ve.” She shrugged as she unpaused the game, smirking as she caught Hana off guard for once and initiated a combo of her own.</p><p>Hana let out a gasp, <em>cheater</em>! She refocused onto the match just long enough to reset their fighters back to neutral, “...who was it?” She asked meekly, quickly balancing the match again with another quick guard break and combo.</p><p>The brit blew a raspberry as she tried to recall, “don’t remember her name, really. A girl I was friends with when I was still in school.” She backed Hana against the wall with two surprising command grabs in a row, “I just recall that she didn’t swing the same way I did.”</p><p>The younger girl felt herself cringe at the thought. The two have had long conversations while stuck in their room when neither could sleep. They both quickly learned that they had a shared preference in women, an awkward topic that Winston had missed when he placed them in the same team, and something that Jack hadn’t even considered when he paired everyone up with a roommate of the same gender. It was a bit funny to think that Jack’s old ways had actually failed him in such an ironic blowback.</p><p>Not that anything would ever happen, Lena had a lover back home waiting for her, a girl named Emily that the brit would always completely gush over everytime she would come up in conversation. Hana thought it was adorable, but it would leave her with a pang of loneliness. She never really had the time for relationships. Especially not after her last one.</p><p>She had thought that maybe, if she didn’t have the time outside of her responsibilities, then a relationship with a peer, someone who shared her responsibilities, would work. <em>Oh how wrong I was</em>. After a tough break up, it had left the MEKA squad in an awkward aftermath. Not long after she had been selected to join Overwatch, she felt guilty but relieved at the time that she could work with new faces.</p><p>So she respected Lena’s relationship, and at the same time her own boundaries. Boundaries she was proud of having, until a certain set of violet eyes left her with a sense of wanting. A wanting that tightened in her chest, a wanting that woke the butterflies in her stomach, a wanting that she tried so desperately to shove down.</p><p>Shove down much in the same way Lena’s character drilled Hana’s character into the ground after a cross up that led into a pile driver flashy finisher. The brit jumped up from her chair, and pumped her fist into the air, “ha! I finally gatcha!”</p><p>Hana rolled her eyes and shook her head, though Lena’s visceral excitement was infectious as she smiled. The next round started, the two characters dashing straight into each other, both attackers clashing in a brief moment of almost perfect synchronization. Hana’s eyes lit up as fists clashed and canceled each other out, and in a moment of excitement Hana initiated her own finisher which ducked under Lena’s next attack and sent her character into the air with a barrage of kicks.</p><p>Lena’s hand pointed at the screen in bewilderment, “no fair!” She cried, but quickly got ready as the final round of their best 2 out of 3 was still not over.</p><p>Hana swallowed, the moment of excitement fading as well as the few milliseconds of clarity it brought. “What did you do about it?”</p><p>Lena’s character stood, blocking Hana’s next string of attacks, “huh? Oh,” she bit her tongue as she pulled Hana’s character into another devastating grab, “I just kinda had to let her go.”</p><p><em>Let her go</em>? The younger girl’s brow furrowed as she wondered how Lena’s experience could help her, despite the vast difference in context. She noticed the brit becoming more impatient with every second that ticked down during their match.</p><p>Hana smirked as she knew exactly how to win. She simply held forward and made her character step into range of Lena’s strongest attack, only to dash back out, baiting Lena into whiffing her grab. The game was only over at that point as Hana punished Lena’s overeagerness with another impossibly long combo, dropping her health bar down to zero.</p><p>The brit pouted as the game announced the victor. Hana pointed a smug grin at her, wagging her eyebrows just to add insult to injury. Lena couldn’t help but smirk, trying very hard to keep an angry facade as she gave Hana’s shoulder another shove, “why are you asking this kinda stuff anyway? Does it have to do with the super secret DMs I’m not supposed to see?” It was Lena’s turn to wag her eyebrows, though this time suggestively.</p><p>Hana darted her eyes away, “n-not at all!”</p><p>”Mhmm~.” The brit nodded her head with a knowing smile, “well are you ready for a rematch? I was so close to beating you!”</p><p>The younger girl’s confidence returned as she gripped her controller, “you call that close?” She had a smug smirk as her focus finally centered on the game itself, “I was going easy on you.”</p><p>”Big talk! Prove it!” Lena would quickly regret her words, but the fun distraction was appreciated by both.</p><p>The world melted away as the two continued to play match after match, Hana racking up a win streak that only made Lena want to try harder. Though Hana couldn’t seem to shake the memory of those bright violet eyes.</p><p>V(^-^)V</p><p>Lena had surrendered after 15 losses in a row, surprisingly though, she hadn’t lost her competitive spark and enjoyment, a mentality Hana envied. Though they did need a break, Lena left to the kitchen to make something and in the meantime Hana made her way into the makeshift medical bay.</p><p>She was under strict orders to get checked up by Angela every few days as she recovers. It was to make sure that nothing impeded her healing, and eventually get her back to peak condition. <em>Not that it would matter anyway</em>. Hana glanced over to the door of the empty garage as she knocked on the door into the medical bay.</p><p>No one answered, but she heard voices behind the door. She couldn’t help her curiosity as she pressed her ear against the thin door.</p><p>”You didn’t stop her?” Angela’s voice was in an unusually frustrated tone.</p><p>”I did not,” Zenyatta’s mechanical hum responded.</p><p>Hana cringed, another reason to regret her awful decision. She had in the process made Zenyatta an accomplice to her mistakes.</p><p>She heard Angela let out a long sigh, “and pray tell, why not?”</p><p>There was a solid tense second of silence before Zenyatta’s calm voice spoke up, “because as an adult she should be capable of making her own decisions, along with mistakes.”</p><p>”<em>Willst du mich veräppeln</em>? What if those decisions get her killed!” Angela’s voice was angry, yet she refused to yell.</p><p>”Sometimes a little faith is required.”</p><p>”Faith? Faith got her a broken rib and PTSD, Zenyatta! She’s only nineteen!”</p><p>Hana couldn’t handle more of this. Zenyatta and Mercy had always gotten along incredibly well, they shared many opinions and admired each other. Their discourse could only be <em>her fault</em>.</p><p>So she turned the knob and pushed in. Once the door swung open both Angela’s and Zenyatta’s attention snapped to her, an awkward moment of tension. She knew both of them could see through her when she pulled on her mask, her feigned smiles and bold bravado, so she instead remained earnest, yet not entirely honest.</p><p>Hana pointed at the door with her thumb, “I’m sorry, I knocked and no one answered so I thought I’d check.”</p><p>Angela and Zenyatta turned to each other for a moment, sharing a look and a nod as they turned their full attention to Hana. It was Angela who spoke first, “I’m sorry, <em>liebling</em>, we had gotten distracted with a discussion,” she directed smile at Hana, it was genuine, but it left Hana wondering where all her anger had gone, “it seems I had forgotten about your check up today.”</p><p>Zenyatta hovered over to Hana, his head tilted to the side, “how are you feeling Hana?” His voice was just as calm as it ever was, she had never heard Zenyatta angry, and had a strong feeling she might not ever.</p><p>The brunette’s hand instinctively went to her side, “it’s getting better, I think I should be fine soon.” Hana gave Zenyatta the brightest smile she could muster.</p><p>Zenyatta’s chuckle was melodic, almost soothing Hana’s worries as well as revealing tension from the room, “good.” He turned his head to Angela, “I should get going, if you require my assistance I will be outside.”</p><p>The doctor nodded as she sighed silently, a small smile still on her lips, “of course Zenyatta.”</p><p>The omnic turned back to Hana, patted her shoulder before hovering past her and closing the door behind him leaving the blond and brunette alone in the medical bay.</p><p>It was called the medical bay, but really it was just another room in their decrepit hideout. The white painted walls were chipped, the floor was stained, but it still smelled sterile. There were a few beds, one that had a curtain for privacy. At the other end of the room was Angela’s desk. The black wood surface was covered in papers, research the doctor had took with her as well as medical reports.</p><p>Angela’s smile widened as she stepped forward and gestured to a bed with an open hand, “when you are ready, <em>liebling</em>.” She held up her clipboard and a pen.</p><p>Hana returned a small smile as she walked up and sat on the bed.</p><p>The blonde started quickly, “are you still feeling pain?”</p><p>”Yeah,” the brunette stared up at Angela, watching as she began to write on her clip board with a worried glare.</p><p>”Could you tell me when it occurs and the level of pain from a scale from one to ten?”</p><p>”When I move suddenly and when I bend my torso, and I'd say about a three.”</p><p>Angela nodded her head, scribbled a bit more before setting her clip board on the bed beside Hana, “could you remove your brace, <em>liebling</em>?”</p><p>Hana complied, unclasping the single black shoulder strap and ripping the velcro open. Angela leaned down, moving her hand under the brunette’s arm and to her side, using her fingers to examine how the rib was healing</p><p>”Hey Angie?” Hana piped up, Angela’s blue eyes flickering up to meet hers.</p><p>The blonde’s eyes moved back down to Hana’s side, narrowing in the process as she almost envisioned the younger girl’s bone structure in her head, “yes?”</p><p>Hana’s own gaze traveled to the wall, finding a crack that almost looked like a bird. “I’m- I’m sorry Angela.” She swallowed as her eyebrows knit together, she bit her lip, her eyes beginning to sting with the threat of tears.</p><p>The blonde’s eyes snapped up, “oh, Hana, you don’t-”</p><p>Hana turned back to stare Angela in the eye, fighting back tears, but in that moment Angela could see the burning flame behind Hana’s eyes, “but I do! I messed up really bad Angie! I made you worry, I made everyone worry, and I’m still making you all worry, I’m so sorry!” The tears she tried so desperately to hold down began to stream down her cheeks.</p><p>Angela’s shoulders slumped as she frowned, “oh Hana... “ She gently reached out and pulled the brunette into a soft embrace. The shoulder of her shirt becoming damp as Hana hugged back, her hands gripping on to the back of Angela’s coat, “it’s okay Hana, I-”</p><p>The blonde heard muffled words, “<em>mianhaeyo, mianhaeyo, mianhaeyo, mianhaeyo</em>.” Angeal wasn’t familiar with Hana’s native tongue, but word she kept repeating into the blonde’s shoulder was understood.</p><p>The doctor tightened her hug, careful not to harm the brunette now that she was without a brace. She let the younger girl get it out of her system, her small hands gripped so tightly to Angela’s coat.</p><p>The blonde closed her eyes as she felt Hana shutter and shake against their embrace. She had teared up the day she was returned, but she didn’t sob like this. No, the girl stood tall despite her injury. Zeigler was too preoccupied at the time worrying about Hana’s broken rib that she hadn’t realized that Hana was so calm, even after her run in with the enemy.</p><p>How could she have missed it? The poor girl had been suffering in silence the entire time, and now she’s the one to apologize first. Angela felt tears prickle her eyes, she pulled the brunette in tighter.</p><p>”No, <em>liebling</em>, I’m sorry,” Angela whispered softly. Zenyatta had been correct, she had been treating Hana as a child. Though it was hard not to, when she saw the young girl for the first time she had arrived by aircraft carrier back when they were all at watchpoint: Gibraltar.</p><p>She looked so small compared to the MEKA she brought with her, hell she was small compared to most anyone else. She flashed such bright smiles, but Angela knew, she could see the sorrow behind her eyes. Hana was already suffering from PTSD by the time she joined Overwatch, Angela herself was the first to help the girl when nightmares woke her up screaming.</p><p>And each time the doctor saw the fear and anguish in such young features it reminded her of the children she had saved, and the ones she had lost. The ones too young to fully comprehend why they suddenly had no home and no family, the ones too young to do anything but cry.</p><p>She regretfully was quick to forget the first time she had seen Hana pilot the very same pink MEKA machine she brought with her. The blazing fire in her eyes when she climbed into the mecha and moved the machine as if it were an extension of her own body. As well as the countless times Angela had been protected by her covering fire and defense matrix. The way Hana would reassure civilians when in crisis, the bright smiles and soothing words.</p><p>Zenyatta had mentioned faith. Angela supposed she could understand, but she wouldn’t call it faith. <em>Trust</em>, she had to trust in Hana, in her decisions, and trust that she would do the best she could. The girl would carry the weight of the world on her shoulders if she could, Angela realized that she couldn’t stop her, and all she could really do was make sure she didn’t carry all of it herself.</p><p>So while Hana sobbed, she hugged her, and held her tight till the girl had no more tears to give.</p><p>Hana couldn’t help but notice the faint smell of lavender.</p><p>She couldn’t stop the trembling, but she could stop the tears. So she pulled herself together as much as she could. She meant to apologize, not sob like a child. She focused on her breathing to calm down, her fingers loosened their grip. Now that she had her breathing under control she realized how Angela held her, it wasn’t much different from when her mother would.</p><p>She pulled away and looked up to notice that Angela had been crying too, “I-” she hiccupped, <em>great</em>, “I didn’t mean to make you cry Angie…”</p><p>”No-” the blonde smiled, using the back of her hand to wipe away her own tears, “no it’s not your fault Hana.” She couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh, “I believe we both needed a good cry, don’t you think?” She pulled away from their hug, sitting down on the adjacent bed.</p><p>The brunette stared at Zeigler for a moment, a chuckle of her own escaping her lips, “I guess so.” Hana brought her hand up to wipe away all the tears from her face, sniffling in the process, “just, uhm,” she flashed a weak smirk at Angela, “don’t tell anyone I cried like a baby?”</p><p>The doctor quirked an eyebrow, a laugh bubbling up as she covered her mouth, “okay <em>liebling</em>, I won’t.”</p><p>Angela’s laugh was infectious, it was also nice to see her not worried for once. <em>Maybe we did need to cry it out, if that makes any sense</em>. Hana looked down to see her brace left beside her thigh, she stared at it for a moment.</p><p>There are people to save out in the world, people out there that needed help in this very second, but Hana sat here with a broken rib staring at the single black brace that would hold her together. She still needed to be a hero, but she can’t be making such grave mistakes. She picked up the brace and began to strap it to herself.</p><p>Angela stood, “ah, let me help.”</p><p>Hana brought up a hand to stop her, “no, I want to do it Angie,” the two stared at each other for another second, neither moving until the brunette uttered a, “please?”</p><p>Zeigler nodded her head as she sat back down, “very well then.”</p><p>Once strapped up and ready Hana stood from her bed, “I’m gonna head out Angie, I have some things to do.”</p><p>Angela looked up to Hana, she saw those fiery eyes once again, followed by a confident smirk, she chuckled noiselessly, “I understand, I have things to tend to as well.”</p><p>The brunette nodded as she made her way to the door and waved Angela a goodbye. Once the door closed behind her she leaned back and took a deep breath. Today was already a long day and Hana knew it was nowhere near finished, Jack said he wanted a word with her after he returned from some errand.</p><p>She pushed off the door and made her way to the kitchen. She dreaded the thought of having to talk to Jack about her fuck ups. The way his brow would wrinkle up as his blue eyes pierced a sense of immense disappointment into your soul, the brunette shivered at the thought.</p><p>The doorway to the kitchen had no door, much like many doorways here when they had first arrived, but they left this one open to let more air circulate. The kitchen and dining area weren’t small, but for some reason it could get quite stuffy when there were multiple people dining. The floor shared the same stained tiles as the rest of the house, but the walls in the kitchen had been repainted recently. It was Lena’s idea as she didn’t like staring at rotting walls as she ate.</p><p>There was a ceiling fan that was just a tad low, Zarya had bumped the top of her head against it multiple times by now, so much so that one of the blades was dented. A bar separated the kitchen proper from the dining table and multiple chairs. Here they had all had dinner together once before, it was a good memory if not a little awkward. The table itself seemed to be a dark oak, though it might’ve just been stained to look like oak as the wood of the table was surprisingly fragile. Hana herself had to use glue and some rope to reattach one of the table legs as Zarya had kicked it out.</p><p>Really a lot of the damage to the house and it’s furniture was due to the pink haired woman, but no one blamed her. She had grown up in a country with an excess of space and now was told to share a house she barely could fit in with five other people. It never really got to the russian though, she had a good sense of humor if not a little mangled by their language barrier at times.</p><p>And as though the memories had called the woman, she appeared through a door that led outside, starling Hana in the process. She ducked her head to move in, her tired spark blue eyes on the floor. The brunette stared for a moment as Zarya shuffled to the kitchen with her head down, seemingly so deep in thought that she failed to notice Hana standing right there.</p><p>She watched as Zarya walked past her, quickly taking a step back to move out of the way as the bodybuilder zeroed it on the fridge. The pink haired woman flung it open, reaching in to grab a clear bottle that Hana had only seen a variant of long ago when her ex smuggled some to try.</p><p>The memory made Hana move, she reached out her hand and knocked on the wall adjacent to her. Only then did Zarya’s head and eyes flicked up to notice her, “hey Zar,” the brunette spoke meekly, “you seem out of it.”</p><p>Zarya blinked then looked down to her drink, she looked back up at Hana before turning around and returning the bottle back to the fridge. “Hello, <em>zaika</em>,” she turned a tired smile on her lips, “I did not see you there.”</p><p>Hana returned the smile, “it’s alright Zar.”</p><p>The pink haired woman quirked an eyebrow, she stepped closer as her eyes narrowed, “you have been crying.”</p><p>The brunette’s eyes widened, she turned her head and waved her off, “it’s no big deal.”</p><p>The powerful woman sighed, her shoulders slumped. She pulled out a chair and sat down, “what are your troubles, <em>zaika</em>.” Her tired eyes looked up to meet Hana’s.</p><p>The young girl saw the exhaustion in Zarya’s sunken features, but the woman still decided to sit down and take the time to ask her about her own issues. It made Hana smile. She pondered for a moment about how much she could really tell her, what really worried her. She had taken a few steps forward, but she still had some ways to go, “it’s honestly nothing Zar, really.”</p><p>The russian’s eyebrows knit together as she brought up a hand to scratch her scalp, “I will not push <em>zaika</em>, but I would like for you to speak to me more freely.”</p><p>Hana looked over to the fridge, “was that vodka?”</p><p>Zarya’s eyes widened for a moment as she looked at the fridge as well, her finger scratching her chin as in embarrassment, “uh-...” She looked back to the brunette and sighed, “yes it was.”</p><p>The russian watched as the girl moved to the fridge, swung it open, and grabbed the same bottle. She turned back and made her way back to the table, bottle in hand. Zarya instinctively stood, ready to get the bottle away from Hana, but the girl simply handed it to her, “here, if you want me to be me more free with you, then you should do the same.”</p><p>Zarya smirked and shook her head, she reached out and grabbed the bottle, “smart girl.” She unscrewed the cap and tilted her head back to take a swig. Hana couldn’t help but watch with wonder, the powerful woman drank the liquid as if it were water when the brunette distinctly remembered having a coughing fit that burned her throat when she first had her own taste years ago.</p><p>The pink haired woman placed the bottle on the table and took a breath. Hana remained still, except for her hands which fidgeted pulled at her own sweatpants, “Zar, I wanted to ap-”</p><p>Zarya held up a finger and shook her head, “Nuh uh.”</p><p>The brunette stammered, astonished, “but-.”</p><p>The russian power house settled her blue spark eyes on Hana’s, a curt look, “<em>zaika</em>, I only want to hear you say you are sorry when you can tell it to me like normal,” she gestured toward the younger girl with an open hand, “do not say it when you are D.va, say it when you are Hana Song.” Zarya grabbed her bottle once again to take another swig.</p><p>”They’re literally the same person, Zar,” Hana grew a little frustrated with Zarya’s vague rules.</p><p>”Mm,” the pink haired woman grunted as she finished swallowing, “that is where you are wrong <em>zaika</em>. They are whole world apart.”</p><p>The brunette rolled her eyes, but it only elicited a chuckle from the bodybuilder. Zarya was always blunt, and Hana didn’t always get her, but always appreciated her company and her honesty.</p><p>”Sorry <em>zaika</em>, I would talk more, but I am very tired.” Zarya slowly stood up, groaning as she did, “we talk tomorrow, <em>da</em>?”</p><p>Hana nodded, “sure thing, Zar.”</p><p>Zarya flashed a warm smile at Hana, nodding her head in return, the pink shock of hair on her head had been getting a little long as strands bobbed a bit as she did.</p><p>Once the bodybuilder left, taking her bottle with her, Hana was left by herself once again. She sat on one of the tables as she mulled over what Zarya had told her. <em>Say sorry as Hana huh</em>? She brought her hand up to scratch her head, like she said D.va and Hana were literally the same person, of course she had her mask in front of the audience, but it was just that, a mask.</p><p>She looked out one of the windows that had been gradually collecting dirt in between it’s glass panes. Germany was beautiful, just outside the grass was a deep green and the heavy foliage of the trees obscured the horizon. She could see small animals skittering from tree to tree, birds perched on branches and a few on the grass picking at whatever food was available.</p><p>The door to the outside world opened which made Hana jump. She turned to see Jack walk in groaning as he tilted his head to pop his neck with a gravelly groan. The brunette swallowed but remained still, she was dreading this. Jack had been out for a while on scouting missions on his own, he was gone for the week while Hana recovered and hadn’t got the chance to talk to her about what she had done.</p><p>His eyes fell on Hana and all she could do was sit up straighter, she dreaded it, but she wouldn’t run from this, she had fucked up and this was a part of her consequences. Jack removed his visor and unstrapped his pulse rifle from his side, he set both on the table as he took a chair beside the brunette.</p><p>He looked tired, and not just physically. She could see the years worth of troubles behind his azure eyes. “Hana.”</p><p>His gruff voice made her wince, “yes sir?”</p><p>Jack’s hand came up to message his neck, “could you get me some water?”</p><p>Hana blinked, she shot up from her seat, pushing the wood chair back with a screech, “yes sir!” She hurried over to the fridge, grabbing one of the water bottles that stood beside cans of beer, and brought it to him.</p><p>He gratefully took the bottle and muttered a thank you as he brought it to his lips. He tipped his head back as he proceeded to chug the entire thing. He sighed after the bottle was empty, setting the plastic on the table which tipped over in the process, “Hana.”</p><p>The brunette grew a little frustrated, “could you get to it already?” She blurted out, quickly regretting it as he raised a tired eyebrow. Her eyes darted away, “sorry,” she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.</p><p>They sat in silence for a few moments as Jack ran his fingers through his completely gray hair. Jack always was guilty of this, at first Hana thought it was some kind of cruel punishment, but Lena assured her that it was just the guy trying to find the right words. So the brunette waited, despite the silence of the room making her squirm in her chair.</p><p>”Hana,” Jack started, “I’m not gonna yell at you that you fucked up,” she turned to face him again, his eyes weren’t angry, just tired, “cause you already know you did.” Hana opened her mouth to speak, but he waved at her to stop, “let me finish,” so she closed her mouth and listened. He cleared his throat, “what I will tell you is that you got lucky, <em>extremely lucky</em>. Hana you tried to fight the most deadliest criminals on the planet by yourself, “ his eyes narrowed as he brought his hand up to wipe his face, “by all accounts you should be dead.”</p><p>The brunette felt a weight drop in her stomach, until now she pushed that night to the back of her head. She had distracted herself with video games, with MoradoMarauder, with Lena. She <em>should</em> be dead right now, but instead she was sitting back at base with only a broken rib. Her head lowered as her bangs covered her eyes, her breaths were now shaky as she felt herself tremble.</p><p>”But you’re not,” Hana looked up from under her bangs as Jack continued, “and that means I have to ask you a few questions.” His eyes looked out the same window she had been, “do you want to continue being on this team?”</p><p>Hana’s hands balled into fists as she fought to stop herself from trembling, she raised her chin and steeled herself, “yes I do.”</p><p>”Then,” he turned back to face her, his azure eyes pierced into her, “you have to start acting like you do. You acted out of your own volition behind your team’s back. You only left that night thinking about you and now how your actions would affect others.”</p><p>She stood, “I went out to help people! There’s nothing we can do from just hiding all the time!”</p><p>He remained sitting, he instead looked up at her, “tell me Hana, who did you help that night?”</p><p>”I-...” the brunette stammered.</p><p>”You didn’t help anyone Hana, all you did was get yourself in harms way, and jeopardized the rest of your team,” he pulled off his gloves as he talked, “what do you think I was out doing this whole time?”</p><p>She could only shake her head and shrug her shoulders.</p><p>”I was out looking for another hideout, or did you forget that the enemy delivered you directly to us?”</p><p>Hana bit her tongue as she stared at the floor, the knot of guilt in her gut returning with a vengeance.</p><p>”That’s another question I have, do you know why they brought you back? Did they threaten you?” Jack’s head tilted to the side, his hardened eyes searching for anything, hoping she had the answer.</p><p>Her head lowered again as she stared down at his shoes, she shook her head, “No she didn’t, Sombra actually stopped them from killing me.”</p><p>Jack brough his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, “do you know why?”</p><p>She didn’t, she knew what the violet eyed woman told her, that it would cause too much trouble for their plans, but she never really believed that. “I don’t, and I-” her eyes flicked up with a confused frown, “I- she-... she already knew that we were hiding out here, she brought me back on her own.”</p><p>”And she didn’t use that against you?”</p><p>”No! No-...” Hana stammered, the more she thought about it the stranger it all became, the more the emotions in her twisted and shifted. Sombra, her enemy, had saved her. Much like everything else she had just refused to face it, to really think about what happened that night and why, “she didn’t,” her voice grew smaller, her last words muttered so quietly that Jack leaned in to try and listen, “she wouldn’t…”</p><p>Jack leaned in as his head tilted to try and listen, “Hana you’re gonna have to speak up.”</p><p>Hana flinched, “n-no sir she didn’t.”</p><p>He let out another sigh before finally standing up. He brought his hand up to ruffle Hana’s hair, “alright kid, I can tell this is getting under your skin so we’ll stop here.”</p><p>She gave him a subtle glare, “Jack, I’m not a kid.”</p><p>Jack’s eyebrow rose, “yes, you are,” he crossed his arms, “but against Winston’s and my better judgement we roped you into this mess.” He closed his eyes as he shook his head, “don’t make me regret my decision Hana, I know what you are capable of, but that won’t matter if you get yourself and your teammates killed.”</p><p>The brunette’s face twisted in anger, frustration, and guilt, but she kept her mouth closed as her hands curled into tight fists.</p><p>After watching the girl fester for a moment with a tightened jaw, his stern demeanor melted just slightly, “though somehow you managed to only come out of it with a broken rib…” Jack sat back down shaking his head as he stared at the floor, “Hana I want you to understand that I have seen men die for making much smaller mistakes.”</p><p>Burning anger gave way to surprise as Hana flinched at his comment, “I-...”</p><p>Both stood in silence as the brunette’s emotions broiled and mixed, she was definitely angry, but she knew she had no right to speak up. He was right, and that made her feel awful. She couldn’t handle the thought of what it would be like to lose any one of them. Despite their differences, the company made such a dingy hide out feel like home, a home she almost destroyed.</p><p>Her fists tightened and untightened as she rallied up her thoughts and feelings. She felt her nails dig in to her palms but she stood straight, correcting her slouch and her eyebrows narrowing, “then- then it won’t happen again.”</p><p>Another second of silence as blue eyes peaked back up to Hana, Jack’s thoughts apparently running just as rampant, “is that right?.”</p><p>There wasn’t any more Hana could say, now it was her job to show him.</p><p>”You’re going to have to be on standby until we can replace your MEKA.” The truth crashed down on to her shoulders, bringing another caveat to her predicament. “We’ll figure it out,” Jack assured, “only if you keep your word.”</p><p>She nodded despite it all. The following silence bit at her heels as she looked around the room, yet she still stood tall. She was unsure of what to say next, what to do next, how to move forward from here.</p><p>Jack pivoted on his chair, facing the table and placing his feet on the surface, resting his legs, “give me some alone time won’t you?</p><p>The following silence wasn’t as heavy, Hana simply nodded and made her way back to her room. The only way to move is to place one foot in front of the other, and Hana suddenly had the next step in mind when she found her room unoccupied. She jumped into her chair, quickly turning on her monitors and opening the messaging application that was now pinned to her taskbar.</p><p>Her hands grazed the keys, staring a hole into her desk as she planned. She conspired a plan, a bait and punish, much like the game this morning against Lena. A trap to entice the woman behind the words on her screen. She had an inkling, a strong one at that, but she had to be completely sure. So she began typing.</p><p>CouchPotato: Hey</p><p>A response didn’t come but seconds later.</p><p>MoradoMarauder: What’s up?</p><p>Hana took in a deep breath as she envisioned her character stepping into the enemy’s range for just long enough.</p><p>CouchPotato: Could you do me a favor?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Criminal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, it's a bit on the short end but I think I'm happy with how it turned out. Hope you guys enjoy reading it, more on the way!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The rain fall filled the empty streets with a cacophony of water hammering onto pavement and roofs. A shadow using the noise to mask her own footsteps as she stepped onto a fire escape. Cloaked in a big darkened raincoat that had a bit of deep purple embellishments, streaks of her signature color along the cuffs and around the neck of the hood, which was pulled over casting a shadow over her features. Her violet eyes shone through the darkness, watching patiently with a grin while surveying a building through it’s windows.</p><p>She leaned against the railing, as she flicked her wrist out, calling forward her purple holograms that appeared with schematics of the building’s floor plan as well as access to the cameras inside. A stick of gum was pulled from a pocket of the coat to pop into her mouth, starting to chew as she watched the guards move inside. The schematics updated in real time, placing moving icons around the building to give a single simplified visual of security personnel.</p><p>A pink bubble inflated and popped from soft purple tinted lips, her arms reached forward, palms twisting outward as interlocked fingers popped knuckles, “too easy,” she mused. Her hand fished into the coat pocket, retrieving two of her translocators. One cylinder was activated and dropped onto the floor beside her, the other was playfully tossed up in the air as she watched the little icons move in patterns and shifts for a few minutes longer.</p><p>Shifts changed in just a few more minutes, knowing this the cloaked woman activated the translocator in her hand, more purple lights coming to life as it was thrown. Spinning through the air and cutting through the rain, three winged panels flipped out before it landed and clamped onto the flat roof of the targeted building.</p><p>Pixelated light bursted up from the contraption which morphed into a bright outline of the woman before solidifying. Violet eyes shined excitedly through the darkness. Long purple nails snatched the device backup as she pulled out another newer device. A metal bracelet with a barrel, a grapple claw loaded inside. She walked to the building’s edge, a quick spin to turn around before continuing to walk backwards, “alright, don’t fail me now <em>arañita</em>,” she slapped the band around her wrist as she pointed her hand toward the other end of the building.</p><p>As her foot stepped off and was quickly yanked by gravity, the grappling claw fired out from it’s barrel, a thin but strong rope trailing behind before the metal of the claw found purchase, clamping onto the other edge of the roof. While falling she wrapped the rope around her wrist while gripping tightly, the rope then pulled taught as she reached the maximum range and she was yanked back up. Her feet hit the wall as she stood horizontally against the building.</p><p>The new sensation was mildly painful in her shoulder, but the woman couldn’t help but laugh, “now I see why you use these ice queen,” she commented to herself. She looked beside her feet to find the entrance she was looking for. A window that led into a small corner office of the building that was never checked.</p><p>She squatted against the building, moving her free hand to grab another tool from her pocket, a simple flat head screwdriver that she drove into the tiny gap between the window and the windowsill. The metal dug into the gap, the lock on the window left unlatched, which served as a pleasant surprise. She smirked as she pulled the window open and swung inside.</p><p>The noise of rain was muted as she rolled onto the carpeted ground, her bracelet snapping free from the rope in the process. As she stood back up she pulled the band from her wrist and tossed out the one use grapple device out the window before closing it, the remaining sound of rain now muffled against the glass.</p><p>Feeling the warmth of indoors the cloak was pulled down to reveal medium length brunette hair that ended in deep purple tips, one side of the head shaved and instead adorned with neurotech installments that were illuminated purple, stark against the darkness. Sombra stretched out her shoulder, pulling the arm across her chest to alleviate a bit of the soreness from supporting her weight. She then flicked out her wrist to bring up a single hologram, a digital clock that counted down.</p><p>Five… Sombra grabbed another stick of gum from her pocket, adding it to the one already in her mouth for more flavor</p><p>Four… She checked the nails of her gloves, marveling their color</p><p>Three… She made a mental note to make a more permanent version of her grapple hook invention, maybe one that didn’t hurt as much too</p><p>Two… She approached the door that led to the hallway, slowly opening it and taking a look around.</p><p>One</p><p>The timer disappeared as she pushed past the door and broke into a sprint. She sped down the hallway. Her hand moved up to her mouth, pulling out the wad of gum as she approached a corner with a camera. Once she got close enough she flung the gum at the camera as it splat and stuck onto the lens.</p><p>As she rushed past the obscured camera she pumped a fist, “ten points,” she muttered to herself with a grin as she came to the end of the hallway. A metal door that had a keypad, she flicked out her wrist again to pull up hexagonal keys, quickly typing into them as she ran, purple strings of light reaching out and sinking into the keypad. The door opened within seconds, the hexagons disappearing just as quickly as they appeared.</p><p>She slipped inside the next room, which held displays of a multitude of rare high tech devices. Chips, processors, and tech pieces that were cost way more than it took to feed a starving country. Currently held here before being shipped to an auction and sold to the highest bidder, regardless of intention.</p><p>Though, there was only one piece here that Sombra came for. She scanned the items as she made her way past enticing pieces of technology, moving past the section for weapons enhancements to Artificial Intelligence. There she found what she was looking for, a sleek black cracked shell that held snapped boards and wires. Although clearly destroyed, the piece was held in a glass case with white display lighting.</p><p>The hacker scoffed at the sight, but she was here for a job, not to judge, so she retrieved another tool from her repertoire. As she retrieved a small high power laser designed to look like a pen, she heard a notification ping in her ear. Raising an eyebrow she used one hand to burn a circle into the glass, while the other brought back her holograms to view the message.</p><p>CouchPotato: Are you sure you’re sending me to the right place?</p><p>Sombra let out an exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes, <em>does this girl ever learn</em>? D.va had asked a favor from Sombra the day before, asking for more information on the next potential Talon operation. Little did the incessant trouble maker know, Sombra sent her to an abandoned factory. No way in hell was she going to give D.va anymore substantial information, even if that meant giving potentially wrong information.</p><p>The circle of glass fell out of place clattering onto the floor which brought Sombra back to her current objective. She reached her arm into the display case and grabbing onto the incubator fragment as she typed a response</p><p>MoradoMarauder: Should be.</p><p>As the fragment was lifted from its place, the white light underneath turned to red. A pressure sensor setting off an alarm as the metal door behind her relocked as reinforced shutters dropped over all the available exits.</p><p>Sombra blinked before shrugging, “welp.” Her body then began to shimmer in purple pixelated light before she disappeared from the room. She was shunted through space and resolidified above her relocator that she had left on the fire escape.</p><p>Holograms were brought back up to watch the ensuing chaos of guards all moving in unison to find the source of alarm. Sombra chuckled to herself as she watched the icons on her map scramble, “good luck with that <em>chicos</em>.” Another notification sound in her ear wiped away her smirk as she groaned in annoyance. She switched one hologram screen to the message and her violet eyes widened.</p><p>CouchPotato: They’re here. </p><p>CouchPotato: They spotted me.</p><p>Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She waved away the holograms, pulled out another bracelet to slap on her wrist, and vaulted the rail. Before crash landing against the pavement she reached her arm up, the grapple shooting from the band and catching the fire escape above her. She swung, changing her momentum to swing forward, and landed with a roll.</p><p>She felt a sudden pain in her ankle as she landed, and growled out a “damnit!” She pushed off the foot and broke into another sprint through the rain, her hair drenched within seconds. She ignored the sensation of hair stuck to her cheek, the mild pain in her ankle, and brought up her hand to type on her hexagonal keys, which appeared to her whim.</p><p>She rounded a corner into an alley, sliding to a stop before running again. Shadows overtook her silhouette. Quickly finding an empty parking lot of an abandoned supermarket. Although unrelated, the location was familiar enough to jostle the memories of a previous night.</p><p>A night where she helped an injured D.va stand after nearly watching her get herself killed. Sombra sneered at the thought, “<em>tonta tonta</em>!” As her stolen dropship approached she felt anxiety build up in her chest, her hands balled into fists. <em>Why do you have to be so damn reckless</em>. The dropship lowered onto the floor and she quickly climbed into the hangar door, not bothering to wait for the door to close before commanding the ship to move.</p><p>While the airship sped through the air, Sombra paced back and forth inside, her ankle still stinging but she ignored it. She should have never given D.va the location, hell, she should’ve never given her <em>any</em> information. The hacker had believed that the damn girl was smart enough to learn her lesson, to not throw herself into danger, but no, she had to be a fucking hero. Not being able to shake the image of what Doomfist could do to a mechless D.va, Sombra felt her teeth dig into her lip. <em>Being a hero means shit if you’re dead</em>.</p><p>Seven minutes and forty two seconds was how long the airship took to get to the abandoned factory that Sombra was so sure was the safest sketchy location she could find. Maybe she miscalculated, maybe it was patrolled by Talon underlings she hadn’t bothered paying attention to. Though when the hangar door opened and the dropship lowered there was a severe lack of people.</p><p>She felt the anxiety tighten in her chest, seven minutes was more than enough time to kidnap an unarmed girl. It was more than enough time to take her to god knows where, and do god knows what- who was she kidding, the girl could be dead by now all because of an oversight and the stubborn girl’s recklessness.</p><p>Before the ship even managed to land Sombra jumped out as soon as the ground was close enough. As she hit the pavement she winced, she almost tripped due to the pain of her ankle, her left hand slamming against the concrete to catch herself. There wasn’t time to be hurt, so she pushed off the ground and made her way into the brick building as quickly as she could.</p><p>She found a back entrance, the door was slightly ajar so she slammed her shoulder through it. The door gave way, the knob slamming against the wall, the sound echoing through the empty factory. Derelict metal contraptions that served once as an assembly line sat front and center, grass finding its way through the cracks of concrete, an open hole in the ceiling letting in some of the rain which continued to rust whatever metal machinery remained.</p><p>Breathing heavily, Sombra checked her surroundings for any signs of struggle, any signs of anything, but she found nothing. This place was just as abandoned and just as run down as the last time she checked, there were no signs of Talon, and no signs of people.</p><p>Except for a pair of light footsteps that rounded around the assembly line. Sombra saw brunette hair tied back in a messy ponytail, with a few strands of stray hair that fell over soft brown eyes. A jacket adorned with logos, unzipped to reveal a teal shirt underneath. Tight jeans that hugged nicely shaped legs, and a pair of sneakers with stickers slapped onto them.</p><p>There she stood, D.va, but the girl’s expression didn’t read fear, panic, or worry. Instead she smirked, a smug smirk that made Sombra realize that she had been tricked. There were never any Talon here, she had made no oversight, and apparently the girl was smarter than she seemed. But now was not the time to be impressed.</p><p>The anxiety that had bubbled in Sombra’s chest sparked and caught flame to seething anger. She stomped forward, and as she grew closer D.va’s expression change from smug to surprised, yet she refused to move from her spot. <em>Stubborn girl</em>. Sombra’s hands gripped onto D.va’s shoulders, her nails digging into the jacket as she pushed her back before slamming her against a wall. Her breath momentarily knocked out of her body, wide soft brown eyes staring into Sombra’s.</p><p>”You tricked me,” Sombra hissed.</p><p>D.va’s smirk returned, yet eyes still wide, “doesn’t feel good does it?”</p><p>The hacker pushed more, picking up D.va a few inches, making her wince, “I thought you were going to die!”</p><p>”Why do you care?!”</p><p>Sombra’s eyes widened, she pulled back, letting D.va drop to the floor. She took a few steps back, “I don’t.”</p><p>”Bull!” D.va shook her head, unconvinced.</p><p>”I don’t care!” Sombra snapped, the anger broiling in her taking over, “why would I care about some stupid girl who thinks she can play hero!?”</p><p>D.va visibly flinched, apparently hurt more by such words than being slammed against a brick wall.</p><p>”<em>Idiota</em>! This isn’t some kind of video game, just because you strap joysticks to your stupid robot doesn’t mean shit!” Sombra spat, “mistake after mistake, you’ll get kicked out of that group of washed up vigilantes in no time!”</p><p>”This wasn’t a mistake,” D.va stated as her eyes narrowed and fists tightened.</p><p>”Oh no?” Sombra stepped closer, a malicious grin pulling at her lips, and forcefully grabbed D.va’s wrist and pulled her closer, “you’re here, unarmed, by yourself, with a member of Talon.”</p><p>Soft brown eyes narrowed, as D.va yanked back her arm, “bullshit-”</p><p>Sombra stepped closer, looming over D.va who tried to step back, only for her back to run in the very same wall she was pushed up against, “<em>No me crees</em>?” Sombra hissed, a hand placed itself against the bricks beside the girl to cut off her escape.</p><p>D.va swallowed, “no,” she pressed herself into the wall, but her eyes still defiant, “no, you wouldn’t.”</p><p>”Why is that, <em>chica</em>?”</p><p>”Because you’re not that kind of person!”</p><p>Sombra watched the squirming girl in front of her, she looked for a falter, a crack, something she could prod so that she could keep the damn idiot out of trouble.</p><p>An epiphany struck her, Sombra herself was trouble. If she hadn’t been giving the girl the info she so desperately wanted, then she wouldn’t have thrown herself in front of that psychopathic murderer. She had unwittingly delivered D.va right to them.</p><p>But why did that bother her so much? D.va and her teammates were the enemy, but even back when the hacker had come across their information, she kept it to herself. And now the thought of the girl getting herself in more danger had thrown Sombra in such a panic that she didn’t even think twice about showing up and exposing herself.</p><p>Life was about survival, that’s how it’s always been, but the damn girl threw complications above it all. The fear Sombra learned to fight and bury away deep inside her began to riot, and quickly it caught flame and began to burn.</p><p>After a moment of the two watching eachother, the sound of rain that fell through the hole in the roof filling the empty air was supplanted by a laugh, one almost maniacal. D.va’s fierce expression faltered as she watched Sombra laugh in her face</p><p>”And what kind of person is that, <em>chica</em>? You don’t know anything about me!” Sombra pushed off the wall, stepping back and opening her arms wide to showboat.</p><p>D.va couldn’t find any words to bite back with.</p><p>Sombra shook her head, “did you think I made sure you weren’t pulverized out of the kindness of my heart?” The hacker placed her hands over her heart as she feigned a pout, “oh <em>pobresita</em>.” Her grim grin returned as she reached forward and booped D.va’s nose, who only blinked in response, “you got me all wrong, <em>chica</em>.”</p><p>The sound of pouring rain seemed to shrink away as Sombra’s words seeped through a wicked smile, “I only look out for myself, cause no one else will, and nobody ever has! I don’t have the time to babysit.” She shrugged as she pulled up holograms for D.va to see, numbers, statistics, and data. “I just saw an impressionable girl with a big audience, nothing more and nothing less.”</p><p>D.va stared at the holograms, filled with information from her streams, everything from her average viewer count to the amount of money she made, down to the cent. Sombra could now see the girl begin to tremble, <em>good</em>. Sombra made the holograms disappear, satisfied.
</p><p>Though unexpectedly, the girl reached forward, grabbed onto the collar of Sombra’s cloak, despite the anxious twist of her lips, there was still a fire behind those soft brown eyes, “No, you’re lying,” she hissed.</p><p>The hacker was stunned for a second, could she tell? Could the girl see the difference, could she see under the mask that Sombra had designed so perfectly that even the wolves of Talon couldn’t pry it off. Doomfist could scare her, but even he was nowhere close to knowing who it was that was under the confident bravado of Sombra.</p><p>No, despite D.va’s flame, she saw the furrowed brows twitch, the girl was unsure, she couldn’t see through the lie despite calling it out. It made Sombra’s grin widen, but it came with an empty feeling in her chest, “are you sure about that, <em>chica</em>?” She reached up and grabbed D.va’s wrists.</p><p>The fire was doused, the burn faded into smoke as D.va’s expression melted into astonishment, “but you promised…” she muttered.</p><p>Another bark of a laugh escaped Sombra’s lips, it’s like her body moved without her, the mask acted on it’s own, “I’m a criminal, <em>chica</em>.”</p><p>D.va shoved Sombra to the side, quickly lowering her head to hide her eyes under her bangs. Her mouth opened, then closed, no words escaped her lips before she broke into a sprint, her shoulder shoving past Sombra’s. Maybe it was the rain, or her mind playing tricks on her, but Sombra thought she might’ve seen the girl crying.</p><p>As she heard a door burst open and slam behind her, her grin fell. She stared at the cracks in the cement as the empty feeling in her chest grew. It hungered and yearned for something, but whatever that something was Sombra didn’t have and couldn’t steal.</p><p>It was then that the hacker realized the rain had stopped, the sky clearing up through the small glimpse from the hole in the roof. Yet she felt more muddled now than ever. They were both better off hating each other, she convinced herself. They were enemies after all, being anything else would have been impossible let alone stupid.</p><p>Sombra turned her head to look over her shoulder, D.va was gone, the only trace of her was a small sticker that had fallen off her shoe. She crouched down and pulled it off the ground, the adhesive side covered in dirt, now incapable of sticking to anything. The design was a rabbit, not D.va’s icon, this one was instead a small cartoon drawing. It was curled up in a ball, it’s long ears drooped down as it slept, a few stylized Z’s rising from its snout.</p><p>She stared at it for a moment, a part of her wishing she had paid more attention to the rest of the stickers that adorned D.va’s shoes. She scoffed at the idea but still slipped the sticker into a pocket of her coat.</p><p>Just outside the factory was quiet, the only sounds was the remaining droplets of water falling from corners of roofs onto puddles that were scattered across the ground. The air ship was still here, waiting patiently with it’s hangar door open. After she stepped into it she searched around for any signs of tampering, realizing D.va had run out this way when she left. Though, everything was untouched, and there was no sign of the girl anywhere. Sombra decided to ignore the way her shoulders fell when she realized this.</p><p>Instead she brought up her holograms again, the data and stats she had accumulated of D.va’s stream appearing from and center. It made Sombra wince, she had forgotten that it was the last thing brought up, she swapped them to display other data and issued a directive to the airship to head home. She wasn’t entirely proud of collecting so much information regarding D.va, it was almost obsessive at some point, but she supposed it had been useful, although not in a way she would’ve guessed.</p><p>She quickly found what she was looking for, the reaction of the security she had just swindled. This she definitely was proud of, it had been her job after all. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the fragment. It served as a nice distraction, even if she couldn’t do anything with it until she got home. She inspected it, tracing her fingers across the cracks on it’s frame and making a mental note of what wires were torn and how it could possibly be pieced together with the other fragment she possessed.</p><p>It was called the incubator, and her employers had the egg, a curious set of code names. Sombra had inquired about it, all she was ever told was that it was the next step. The next step to where? She had no clue, but she didn’t get paid for asking questions, so she didn’t push it. Not that she hadn’t tried her best to research, but any information she found was redacted, and any trails to answers destroyed. All she knew is that it was a weapon of some kind, and Talon was paying a pretty penny for it.</p><p>All that mattered was that she’d get paid and live to see another day after all.</p><p>She hadn’t realized how much time had gone by as she absentmindedly stared at the fragment in her hand, only snapping out of her thoughts by the hangar door opening once more. Blinking in surprise before slipping the fragment in her pocket and taking a look out into the cold open night air. The stars were bright out here in the woods, low light pollution made it so that she could see every single constellation she grew up memorizing. Though the sight of them were quickly obscured as the drop ship lowered below the treeline.</p><p>She approached a familiar cabin, the same hideout she had been using for a while now. It had slowly grown to become her favorite for many different reasons. The surrounding forests and darkness that many would find ominous she found extremely comforting, it was just her and wildlife for miles. Animals were predictable, and easy to manage, but people found ways to surprise Sombra and catch her off guard.</p><p>
  <em>Much like one unfortunately clever brunette</em>
</p><p>The hacker shook her head as she approached the porch of the cabin, her home, or atleast the closest thing she’d really ever have to one. She placed her palm against the scanner against the door, the screen lighting up, and then stepped in.</p><p>It was nice to be inside, though it didn’t relieve the empty feeling in her chest. She found the idea frustrating, at least she tried to, instead she felt quite apathetic. She started moving to her room, only to shiver, realizing that her hair still stuck to her cheek and that her cloak was soaked. She sighed before turning toward the table, quickly digging into her deep pockets to grab her tools.</p><p>She dumped the multiple translocators, the grapple prototypes, a few basic tools, and the fragment onto the kitchen table. In the process she found the sticker she had picked up earlier, the small sleeping rabbit. Not sure why she even took it with her, she turned to toss it into the small trash bin in the corner of the kitchen only to hesitate. She instead placed the sticker on the clean counter.</p><p>Tired, she realized she was definitely tired now, her muscles ached and she couldn’t help but slouch a bit. She stepped into the bathroom and stripped her soaked clothes, stepping into the shower and letting warm water envelop her. She stared at the tiled walls as her mind wandered.</p><p>She had another piece of the incubator, and by looking at the pieces she surmised that there wasn’t much left to find. A smug smirk came with the thought, but she couldn’t help feel a little uneasy at the idea. The feeling was quickly replaced with annoyance as a pair of light brown eyes flashed through Sombra’s memories.</p><p>”Ugh,” she groaned before actually washing up.</p><p>She was out of the shower within a few minutes, finding some comfortable clothes and not bothering to pick up the discarded clothes, it was her place after all, she’d deal with it later.</p><p>She finally made her way into her room, pushing inside and finding the same simple room with the bare minimum plus her computer. It was dark except for the soft moonlight and the purple LEDs. It was empty and barren and it made Sombra wonder why she had been in such a hurry to be here in the first place. Right… her computer was in here, she could spend hours there, it’d be a nice distraction.</p><p>She sat down in her comfortable chair and booted up the PC. She was quickly met with a personalized desktop, icons tidy with a purple skull as the background. Her hands moved before she could think, opening up a chatting application in the process.</p><p>The application opened to D.va’s last messages.</p><p>CouchPotato: They’re here. </p><p>CouchPotato: They spotted me.</p><p>The hacker sighed, quickly closing the application and then turning off the monitor. She instead just made her way to her bed and fell into it.</p><p>Why did it bother her so much? D.va was just another cog for her to use, or at least she was supposed to be, before she started asking to play game after game with her sly dorky banter. Was that part of the trick too? Had D.va been using a mask of her own the entire time? The thought made Sombra’s hands grip onto the bed sheets, her nails almost tearing through in the process.</p><p>It didn’t matter now, after today the brunette would hate her, as she should. Sombra said it herself, she was a criminal, and that’s the way she liked it. At least that’s what she had believed for so long, and it was much too late to change that now. She made her bed, and now she had to sit in it, or lay down in it as she was very tired.</p><p>As she drifted to sleep, she couldn’t help but remember the moment D.va had dashed away. Had the girl been crying? Did it even matter if she was?</p><p>Why care, after all, she was a criminal.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Hope</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Exciting stuff! My summer is now ending pretty soon here and I'll be a lot more busy, but writing this has been a lot of fun, even if I'm pretty nit picky with my own pit falls. No worries though, I'll find time to write so that the story can continue, especially cause I can't wait for what I have in store for future chapters. Hope you guys enjoy, and thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That <em>damn</em> siren, the same Hana grew to know so well that no matter how long she had gone without hearing it, it’d still scramble her insides every time she heard it in the distance. No, maybe she’s sleep deprived, the siren went off yesterday too, she swears… but why did it feel like she hasn’t heard it in years? Whatever, she might be going crazy but that wasn’t important, what was important was getting up.</p>
<p>She had to get up, she had to get ready, get in her mech and deploy with the rest of her team. Jack was waiting for her, and Lena would be worried if she took too long… No, that’s not her team, they weren’t part of her MEKA squadron, but… they were her team right?</p>
<p>Regardless she had to move, and she tried to, but arms felt like they were held down by an ungodly amount of viscous honey, or gelatin? It wasn’t important what impeded her, but she couldn’t move. She panicked, where was she? Her breathing quickened, but air didn’t enter her system.</p>
<p>Drowning, she was drowning. <em>No- no no no</em>, not like this, there were still people she had to help, people were in danger, she knew because she could hear the siren. A siren sound that blared as if just behind her, but somehow not dampened at all by whatever held her. She <em>had</em> to move, people counted on her. It took all the power she had, all the energy she could muster just to open her eyes. They felt sticky, like they had been closed for days and gunk had sealed them shut, but once open she saw darkness above her and glimpses of light shining up from below her</p>
<p>She was in water- no she was in the ocean, sinking head first into the depths as fragments of metal and robotic limbs scattered out around her, each one enveloped by the darkness that drug her further and further down.</p>
<p>Hana begged in her mind for her body to move, to do anything, but all she could do was watch as the depths grew closer. Then suddenly a light came from a darkness, but it was red and mesmerizing, almost infecting the deep blue with a sickly shade of crimson. It waited for her in the depths, it watched as she sank into its reaches.</p>
<p>Panic bubbled in her, the fear in her heart made her begin to shake as it shot through her system, like a lightning bolt of the worst anxiety she had ever felt. She tried to scream, but all that escaped was a few bubbles that escaped her mouth. Nothing, she couldn’t do a damn thing, not when it mattered, not when people needed her.</p>
<p>Then she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and she was yanked up, pulled away from the glowing red lights that marked the metal monstrosity. And as further she got from the depths of the waters, the red light diminished, fading away but never gone, instead only waiting for the next opportunity to come.</p>
<p>As she broke the surface, she tried to breathe in air, but couldn’t, there was already too much water in her lungs. She stared limply up at the moon, the last glance she’d ever take of it, but it was quickly replaced. Replaced by a shadow, a figure, someone who felt so familiar yet so estranged. She couldn’t tell who they were, just that their presence filled her with conflicting emotions, pain, sorrow, hatred but giddiness, excitement, and a sense of comfort. It made no sense to her, but she didn’t care, it wouldn’t be too long before she couldn’t make sense of anything.</p>
<p>Then she realized- she realized the figure had the most beautiful pair of eyes, almost cat-like and playful, but they weren’t playful now, they were worried. Beautifully worried violet eyes.</p>
<p>Hana shot up from her bed, instinctively gasping for air. Dream- dream, it was a dream. Her breathing was quick and shallow, the anxiety in her gut began to expand and grow. Hana’s head whipped left to right, looking around the room for her roommate, her friend, the very one who knew exactly how to ground her, how to calm her, but she wasn’t here. Hana was alone and she was beginning to have her vision taken from her, black swirls of darkness impeding in from the corners of her vision</p>
<p>She needed to be okay, but more than that, she needed to prove to herself that she could do it on her own. She couldn’t be a kid anymore and expect Lena to protect her from her nightmares, she needed to be a hero. So she remembered Lena’s voice, and replayed her words in her head. <em>In</em>, she took in a slow deep breath and held for what seemed long enough, <em>out</em>, she expelled the air in her lungs slowly. It was a trick Angela had passed down to Lena, who then passed it down to Hana. If she was breathing slowly it would trick her body into relaxing.</p>
<p>After a few long minutes of continuing her exercise the anxiety bubbling in her gut died down, it wasn’t gone but at least now it was manageable. What it left behind though, was a dull headache, it wasn’t incredibly severe but Hana was sure it’d annoy her for the rest of the day.</p>
<p>What was today anyway, and where was she? She looked up and finally took in her surroundings, it was her room, but her computer, stuffed animals, and desk were gone. In fact the entire room was basically empty save for their beds. The lack of homey furniture and memorabilia that was ordinarily strewn across the room made the mispainted and chipped walls all the more drab and gloomy.</p>
<p>The mirror that was always just haphazardly leaned against the wall was absent so Hana couldn’t see if she was as disheveled as she felt. She slipped out of bed, still confused as to the absence of their stuff, as well as the absence of Lena. Though before she could make her way to the door it suddenly burst open, which made Hana yelp while jumping back.</p>
<p>”Oh sorry, love,” Lena stepped through the doorway, “I didn’t mean to spook you, I was just gonna come and wake you up-” Lena paused, her eyebrows furrowing in sudden worry, “Hana you’re shaking.”</p>
<p>Hana tilted her head before looking down at her hands, which refused to remain still as they trembled, “Oh, I guess I am,” she had thought she had gotten the anxiety under control, but she was still apparently jumpy.</p>
<p>Though the anxiety was smothered, just as she was by Lena’s sudden embrace, “oh love, did you have another nightmare?”</p>
<p>It was nice, it was really nice to have Lena to help. She returned the hug, it felt natural to, “Yeah… but, I calmed myself down- or at least I thought I did.”</p>
<p>Lena pulled back, just enough to scan Hana’s expression, “you did?” Hana gave her a small nod to which the spunky girl’s lips pulled into a wide grin, “you did! I’m so proud of you!”</p>
<p>”<em>Eonni</em>,” Hana whined, “I still couldn’t handle it on my own, I should’ve-”</p>
<p>”Nope!”</p>
<p>”Huh?”</p>
<p>”Nope!” After receiving a small annoyed look from Hana the brit giggled as she pulled away from their embrace, “you did it, and you did it on your own, Hana, d’yannow how hard that is?”</p>
<p>Hana stammered, “uh-”</p>
<p>She was interrupted again as Lena brought her hands up, “like super hard! And you did it all on your own!”</p>
<p>Hana just rolled her eyes, “I guess so,” her eyes fell to the rest of the room, still just as empty as before, “Lena?”</p>
<p>”Yes love?” Lena’s arms drooped down as she tilted her head.</p>
<p>”Where’s our stuff?”</p>
<p>The brit paused, an eyebrow quirked in confusion, “we packed last night remember?”</p>
<p>”Oh,” Hana brought up a hand to rub the side of her head, “oh right,” the hazy fog of this morning’s anxiety began to slowly lift. They had gotten ready to move out and onto the next hide out. Surprisingly the new location wasn’t too far away, but they were moving on to another country, Luxembourg if she remembered correctly. Not like it mattered much anyway, it’s not like she got the chance to really explore these places.</p>
<p>Lena patted Hana’s shoulder, “c’mon love, you should change, we’re leaving soon.”</p>
<p>Hana looked down to her attire, an oversized stained t-shirt and pajamas, she grimaced before nodding her head, “good idea.”</p>
<p>The brit quickly left the room, though not without another hug. Once the giggling tornado that was Lena left Hana to herself she could feel the air become heavier. Lena always somehow managed that, she could lift up the spirits of the very room she was in just by being herself.</p>
<p>It always made Hana wonder if she could ever manage the same, though in her case she’d most likely just make a whole room full of people bummed out. She chuckled to herself, if that were the case maybe she could weaponize it, possibly make a whole room of enemies too sad to fight. She shook her head, obviously she was still not thinking clearly if this is where her thoughts went to.</p>
<p>After looking around the room, she found a set of clothes she had prepared yesterday, her memory still a little hazy as it felt like the edges of her mind were filled with cotton balls. Though yesterday was slowly coming back to her as she inspected the outfit she picked out, grinning to herself as she was satisfied with the selection.</p>
<p>It was comfy clothes, she knew she’d be stuck in them for a while as she was always too lazy to unpack as soon as she arrived at a new place. A simple soft black tank top, a cozy but stylish pink jacket, and a pair of nicely fitting jeans that were on the stretchier side. Without a mirror she just tied her hair up, unwilling to really deal with it today. Once ready she pushed out the door and into the small hallway.</p>
<p>The house was empty of most of the furniture, some pieces left here and there, but mostly stuff that were either broken, or didn’t have a use for anymore. It was strange, despite how small and decrepit the building was, it did feel like home, but now without all their things it reminded Hana of the abandoned houses she would sneak into as a kid.</p>
<p>She stared down the hallway, the dirty tiles and wall with chipped paint almost made her expect a ghost to round a corner. So when Angela stepped out of her office in a hurry, the way her lab coat trailed behind her made Hana let out a small stifled giggle.”</p>
<p>The doctor turned her head to see Hana standing in the hallway, she smirked and pulled up a brow, “what is so funny, <em>liebling</em>?”</p>
<p>Hana shook her head, “nothing really Angie, you just reminded me of a ghost is all.”</p>
<p>”Oh?” Angela looked down to her attire, pulling at the collar of her lab coat, “I didn’t realize I appeared so ghastly.”</p>
<p>The shorter girl’s giggles rolled into soft laughter, “no no Angie it’s not you,” Hana raised her arms to motion towards the state of the walls around them, “just thought the place looked like a ghost town now that we’re moving out.”</p>
<p>The blonde took a quick glance around her before slowly nodding in agreement, “ah, yes that does seem to be the case.” She stepped to Hana’s side as they both stared down the empty hallway, “You know this isn’t much different from when we left gibraltar,” Angela commented with a despondent tone.</p>
<p>She wasn’t wrong, after the fall of Overwatch they had evacuated every branch head quarters left standing. The memory of the gray sterile empty hallways made Hana shudder slightly. Angela hadn’t noticed, so instead Hana gently bumped her shoulder against the doctor’s, “well it’s different now that we know where we’re going next.”</p>
<p>Angela’s blue eyes looked down to Hana, a small smirk on her lips, “correct again <em>liebling</em>,” she patted the younger girl’s shoulder before turning, “we should get going, I’m sure the rest are waiting for us.”</p>
<p>Hana nodded as they walked together, leaving the small slowly crumbling building on it’s lonesome again, though it did serve as home for a while. Just outside in the large glass clearing sat an overwatch passenger ship. Hana liked these ships, they were surprisingly big yet still cozy.</p>
<p>The large hangar door was left open for the two, the orange glass that made up most of the door capable of holding up an incredible amount of weight, she’d even seen Reinhardt stomp on it for proof. Though it wasn’t too surprising, the entire ship was built like a tank, if tanks could fly.</p>
<p>Once they stepped inside Hana felt a tug at her lips, a smirk from the many memories she’s had in these ships. A table just shy of the center of the room that displayed a beautiful hologram globe of the earth, with an icon that was Overwatch’s logo placed onto their destination. Each corner in the main area were shelves indented into the walls, three of which held important equipment like life vests, parachutes, first aid kits. Though one shelf held random items, unfinished bottles, books, and even a poster of Hana herself advertising a caffeinated drink that was much too unhealthy for any sane person to drink, but it was Hana’s favorite. In that same corner also was a booth and table, a few cards strewn across the surface along with the seats.</p>
<p>Just as she remembered, though that poster <em>had to go</em>. Hana beelined it for the booth, climbing onto the seat and reaching into the shelf, but before her fingers could find touch the paper she was stopped by a hand that appeared in a flash. In a literal blue flash of light, Lena’s chronal accelerator whirred, now that it was strapped to her chest the bubbly brit could actually <em>teleport</em>, how fair was that?</p>
<p>The brit smirked, “you did not just try to rip off my favorite poster.”</p>
<p>”Common, it’s like so old! Let me get rid of it,” Hana whined with a playful pout.</p>
<p>Lena gasped as if offended, “old!? It’s been here for a year max!”</p>
<p>Hana nodded, “yeah! Old!” She moved her other arm to grab the damn thing, but she was yanked away, “hey!”</p>
<p>As Lena dragged further from the poster, Hana turned to shoot a pleading glare towards the blonde, who’s blue eyes just watched with a hint of a smirk, “Angie!” Hana pleaded, “help me!”</p>
<p>Angela just shrugged apologetically, though she didn’t seem very sorry, “I like that poster too, <em>liebling</em>.”</p>
<p>”That’s two against one!” Lena beamed, “sorry, love, you just got outvoted.” She finally let go of the girl’s wrist.</p>
<p>”But- but…” Hana glanced back and forth between the two, she pouted her lips and etched her eyebrows together, giving them her best puppy dog stare. Though the two didn’t give in, Lena crossed her arms and smirked, while Angela just offered a soft smile and a shrug. Hana’s ploy for sympathy broke away as she slouched, a grumpy glare replacing the pout, “ugh fine.”</p>
<p>”What is issue?” A shock of pink hair peaked from over Angela’s head, though as Zarya stepped closer the more apparent their height difference became. The body builder easily towered over the three of them, but she looked down with an earnest curiosity.</p>
<p>”Could you believe Hana?” Lena pointed at the perpetrator while turning her head up to complain to Zarya, “she was trying to get rid of her poster!”</p>
<p>The russian scrunched her nose, baffled, “but why? It is a good poster, is it not?”</p>
<p>Lena’s head turned back to Hana with a wider smirk, “well I guess it’s three against one now.”</p>
<p>Hana threw up her hands, “fine fine I get it, I’ll leave it alone, jeeze!”</p>
<p>Her exasperated response elicited a hearty laugh from Lena, which quickly became infectious. Zarya shook her head as she chuckled, Angela instinctively covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed, all while Hana felt her cheeks burn.</p>
<p>”Girls,” a gruff voice broke through the laughter, though Jack’s voice wasn’t as stern as it could’ve been, “I just finished setting the parameters in the ship’s system, if you’re all packed and ready we should start moving.”</p>
<p>Lena waved a nonchalant salute, “sir, yes sir!” She blinked away with a giggle, finding one of the six seats against the walls that were designed for when the ship took off and landed. The brit jumped into the nearest one, fastened her seatbelt and pulled down the overhead bar that secured her in place.</p>
<p>Hana raised an eyebrow, “what’s she so excited about?” She murmured, mostly to herself as she approached one of the seats.</p>
<p>Though it appeared that Angela overheard, “she likes the feeling of being in an airship while it takes flight, but I think she would have more fun piloting it.”</p>
<p>”Wait, Lena is going to pilot?” Zarya apparently overheard, though not enough as her face paled.</p>
<p>The doctor just chuckled and patted the body builder’s arm, “no need to worry Zarya, the ship will be on auto-pilot for today.”</p>
<p>Hana watched in curiosity as Zarya let out a relieved sigh, her huge shoulders slumping a bit, “then I will be okay,” she nodded to Angela before finding her own seat.</p>
<p>The blonde nodded in return, the amused smile still on her lips as she turned her head back to Hana, who tilted her head in confusion, “oh,” Angela’s eyes widened, “that’s right, you haven’t been a passenger on one of Lena’s joy rides.”</p>
<p>”They’re that bad?”</p>
<p>”Well,” Angela paused for a second to find a nice way to phrase their grievances with Lena’s piloting, “it’s almost like a roller coaster, you know you’re safe, but there are much too many loops.”</p>
<p>”Oooh…” the brunette was usually a fan of rollercoasters, but due to Zarya’s reaction, she wasn’t sure that was a ride she’d want to take part in.</p>
<p>Eventually they all moved to their seats, each defaulting to the same order they always seemed to silently agree to. On one wall sat Zarya, Angela, and Jack. On the adjacent wall sat Zenyatta, Lena, and Hana. The memories of her early days in Overwatch always seeped into her mind as she climbed into the seat and fastened herself. She was much too nervous and star-struck the entire time, so Lena immediately started trying to make her feel at home.</p>
<p>The wide inviting smile the brit gave her when she offered the seat next to her always stuck out in Hana’s recollections. The woman was a hero in more ways than one, and Hana was more than overjoyed to find Lena’s bright optimism was just her genuine self and not some facade for publicity.</p>
<p>The young girl had gotten used to coming to that same realization many times over the course of her career. By this point she had met so many people with sizable followings that it always surprised her when she met those who were just genuine. Lucio was another awesome guy that came to mind, though it had been a while since they’ve talked.</p>
<p>As the ship lifted into the air all Hana could think about was the stark differences between her and those she admired. No matter the situation Lena had the strength to just be herself, while Hana formed an online audience with an exaggerated persona, a caricature of what she knew would entertain.</p>
<p>Hana’s lips curled into a frown as she stared at the floor, her hands gripped onto the bar. Sombra’s words lingering like an intrusive whisper in her skull.</p>
<p>”<em>Why would I care about some stupid girl who thinks she can play hero</em>”</p>
<p>Was she really a hero, or was that part of the facade too? Had she fooled herself and the whole world too? She stood alongside the best, the beacons of hope that had driven her as she grew up in a world torn by suffering, but awful machines and terrorist organizations. They were lights that kept the world looking up even when the deep depths threatened to pull everything into the dark.</p>
<p>Did Hana have that light too, or was her involvement a fluke? She didn’t even have her MEKA anymore, she had thrown that away in an outburst of impatience and foolish mistakes. She had been praised for her instincts, but maybe it was luck, after all it was her instincts that led her to believe that those violet eyes had something in them. A light of their own, a spark she thought she saw.</p>
<p>A sudden warmth enveloped her hand that she hadn’t realized was balled into a tight fist. Her head snapped up to find Lena, who still sat beside her as the airship moved, “is something bothering you, love?” Chestnut brown eyes concerned, yet patient as she gave a reassuring smile, “you know you can talk to me about anything, is about your nightmare?”</p>
<p>Hana looked around the ship to see the others mingling, save for Zenyatta who remained in his seat motionless, probably in some sort of meditation. She spoke up, though only loud enough for Lena to hear, “Yeah- I mean… n-no, not really.” Hana stammered as her eyes fell back down to the brit’s hand, which softly held onto her fist.</p>
<p>”What’s up?” Lena offered as a simple response, but it was all that was needed.</p>
<p>The young girl stared down to her hands, though her mind was preoccupied with all that ran through it. Talking to Lena always had helped, but her mouth wouldn’t respond, her lips would open and close with no words slipping out. It felt like there was a vice in her chest that kept her worries from slipping out. The brit remained patient the entire time, quiet but still tentative and listening.</p>
<p>”That girl-” some words finally slipped from her, “that girl you said you had to let go.”</p>
<p>Lena’s head tilted in curiosity, “huh?”</p>
<p>”I think- I think I get what you meant now.” Hana relinquished, her head lifted as she spoke up, “the one who uhm, ‘didn’t swing that way,’ I can understand now why you said you had to let her go.”</p>
<p>The brit blinked and watched Hana with a pensive frown, “ah right,” she leaned back against her chair as she stared up at the ceiling, “I was kinda distracted when I told you about that, I hadn’t really told you the whole thing.”</p>
<p>”The whole thing?” Hana repeated, hoping Lena would explain.</p>
<p>”Yeah,” Lena let out a small sigh that was quickly covered by a lopsided smile, “I did let her go, and that’s good to do, but I let her go before I could even ask, or get to know her really.” She let out a sheepish giggle, “I was a bit shy then.”</p>
<p>Hana giggled softly as well, Lena’s bubbling energy always did seem to be infectious, “you were shy? I don’t believe it.”</p>
<p>Lena laughed as she brought a hand up to run it through her messy hair, “well I was.” She paused before facing Hana, her features softened to a thoughtful smirk, “I guess what I’m tryin’a say, love, is that it’s good to know when to let go, but it’s also good to know when to hold on.” There was a tinge of dreaminess in her eyes just then, “Emily makes me the happiest girl in the world, but I had to hold on real tight to keep her.”</p>
<p>Hana ruminated on the advice she didn’t know what to make heads or tails out of. She was sure that if Lena knew who she had in mind when asking these questions that she’d be told to get as far as possible and never look back, but Lena didn’t push for answers and so Hana kept that to herself. After a moment she nodded her head, “I think I understand… Thanks again, <em>eonni</em>.”</p>
<p>The brit’s bright smile returned as she waved it off, “it’s no biggie.”</p>
<p>A comfortable silence fell over the two as they both stared off into space. Hana deep in thought, while Lena day dreamed. Though after a few minutes Lena’s face lit up as she flicked her attention back to Hana, “hey, I forgot to ask you the last time we played, but how did you get me with that counter hit fierce last time we played?”</p>
<p>Hana’s thoughts were suddenly reeled in, caught in surprise by the sudden change in topic, but one she was happy to talk about. Games, specifically the fighting game the two had been putting so much of their free time lately. They were always easier, there were always options to problems, there were always clear decisions if you knew the data behind attacks and special moves. It definitely made more sense to Hana than anything else did so the two spent the remainder of their time airborne discussing video game strategies with wide geeky grins.</p>
<p><br/>(•¯ ∀ ¯•)</p>
<p><br/>The ship ride didn’t last too long as they landed on their destination in less than an hour, Lena had complained she could’ve made it in twenty five minutes, but thankfully the ship’s autopilot took the calmer approach as the ship itself was not designed for speed. After touching down everyone unfastened themselves from their seats and began grabbing their things from the back of the ship.</p>
<p>Hana instinctively grabbed the box with her computer in it, opening it to make sure it hadn’t been damaged in the process. She doubted it, the seats were a safety measure that Jack had always enforced using, but in all reality the autopilot was so smooth that it was rare for anything or anyone to get hurt during flight. But just like Jack, Hana might’ve been a little paranoid when it came to her prized possessions.</p>
<p>She reached in to pat the top of the computer tower before closing the box lid and carefully lifting it all up, she’d have to come back later for the monitor, keyboard and mouse. After being satisfied with her inspection she turned to find Lena who stared at Hana with an amused grin.</p>
<p>”You treat that thing like it’s your baby, love.” The brit teased as she used her leg to push up the box she was holding to get a better grip.</p>
<p>Hana’s eyes narrowed and stuck out her tongue which elicited a laugh from Lena. she then carefully hurried out of the ship escaping from more judgement. Though as she got to the doorway she was stunned by the view. They were somewhere rural again, basically as middle of nowhere as they could get, but the green rolling hills with treelines that seemed to go for miles only to be framed with a beautiful blue sky.</p>
<p>It seemed impossibly familiar, and beautiful. Not that germany wasn’t beautiful, but maybe Jack had picked this place on purpose, it looked almost exactly like home, though she did miss being close to the ocean, she hadn’t been at a beach in so long. Almost as if to answer, a hand placed itself on her shoulder, she looked up to see Jack, who only offered a small almost knowing smile, “welcome home kid,” his gruff voice impossibly soft.</p>
<p>She looked back to the view, “where?”</p>
<p>It was all she had to say, Jack pointed with one gloved hand to a small building in the distance with the forest growing into it’s back yard.</p>
<p>Hana moved, still being careful with the box in her hands, but she was excited, excited to see the new home she’d have, even if they would have to rebuild it and probably deal with bugs. The air was fresh and the grass was long enough to come to her hips, though as short as she was it wasn’t too abnormal. Once she made it to the building she found it to be around what she expected. A house just about to fall apart from being abandoned and forgotten for much too long.</p>
<p>The state of the house didn’t get rid of the wide grin on her lips as she pushed in through the front door, which nearly fell off its hinges as she did so. “Oh,” Hana inspected it as it threatened to come apart at any second, “guess we’re gonna have to fix that soon,” she shrugged and looked around.</p>
<p>The layout was different, for one this place had an actual living room that wasn’t integrated with the kitchen. There were two hallways that branched off from the dining room that was separated from the kitchen space by a bar with stools that looked too fragile to sit on yet. Though it was the same amount of rooms, she figured she’d share with Lena again, which she honestly prefered at this point even if she wouldn’t admit it.</p>
<p>While Hana looked around the others caught up, they entered one after the other as they all inspected, discussed what to fix first, and all scattered in their pairs to claim rooms. Hana noticed the process was getting faster each time they moved, it was almost like a tornado of their personalities bursted through the door and swept up the atmosphere with their mingling. Zarya had even managed to accidentally slam her elbow into one of the hallway’s walls, forming a pretty decently sized hole and causing property damage in the first few minutes here.</p>
<p>No one was bothered by it though, in fact they all had a pretty good laugh over it.</p>
<p>Once Hana set down enough of her boxes in the small room that she and Lena decided on she let out a tired sigh and slumped onto the ground. The room itself wasn’t much different than their last, the paint was chipped and there was just enough room for two beds and Hana’s computer setup, but at least the paint was all one solid greyish blue and the ceiling fan was balanced. She took a second to catch her breath while sitting on the floor and absentmindedly staring up at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure how Jack managed to get things like water, electricity, and gas running in these old rundown houses, but she knew from experience that it would’ve all been ready by the time they got here.</p>
<p>Her face lit up with an idea as she scanned the boxes she brought in. She stood and jumped over their unpacked things and ran out through the doorway and into the hallway to find Lena. Though as she rounded the corner she slammed into someone, in the process losing her balance and falling on her ass, “ow…” she mumbled as she looked up to find Jack with a tablet in his hand..</p>
<p>He only raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.</p>
<p>Hana instantly shot up, “Uh, sorry sir! I was just trying to find Lena and I wasn’t looking.” Her face lit up with embarrassment as she straightened her posture.</p>
<p>Jack cracked a small smile and shook his head, “it’s fine, Hana. I was looking for you anyway, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”</p>
<p>Hana swallowed, a bit of anxiety bubbling up, “oh.”</p>
<p>The old soldier’s blue eyes softened, “no need to worry,” he assured her, “actually I think you’ll be excited about this.”</p>
<p>Her head tilted in curiosity, “oh?”</p>
<p>Jack nodded, “even though you don’t have your mech we need you on this team, there’s a reason as to why we assign groups of six. As you know each of us has our own directives and responsibilities on the field and without one of us our procedures would fall apart.”</p>
<p>”Sure,” Hana crossed her arms as her eyebrows knit together, “but without my MEKA I can’t hold the front line and peel as a tank.”</p>
<p>”Exactly,” Jack huffed as he lifted up the tablet he was holding to show her, “that is why Torbjorn got working on this.”</p>
<p>The girl paused for a moment before reaching out and inspecting the tablet. It held schematics for a new mech. A mech design that although was loosely based off of her own MEKA, was almost entirely different. Another bipedal framework but the body was more of a sphere and the limbs, although still reinforced with armor, were thinner and longer. It even sported two sets of arms, one set that were equipped with fusion cannons of similar design, while the other set were attached to the top and drooped down, ending in three fingered mechanical claws. It had a rustic yet efficient design that fell into line with the rest of Torbjorn’s inventions.</p>
<p>”He said he wouldn’t have enough time to figure out how to make something similar to a defense matrix, so you will have to make do with the features it does have.” Jack elaborated as he pointed out some notes on the schematic.</p>
<p>”It’s-” Hana stared at the schematics for a bit longer before looking up at Jack, “it’s amazing.”</p>
<p>The old soldier let out a soft chuckle, “I’ll let Torbjorn know you think so.”</p>
<p>”But why wouldn’t he have enough time? Did you give him a deadline or something?” Hana questioned as she returned the tablet.</p>
<p>Jack nodded, “this new mech will be arriving within the week, we’re going to go out on the field soon.”</p>
<p>Hana gasped, “really?” They hadn’t had a mission in a long time, it was an opportunity to get back out there and start helping again. It was also an opportunity to show Jack and her allies that she was capable of moving past her mistakes. She pumped her fists close to her chest as an excited nervousness filled her system.</p>
<p>”Yes,” Jack turned off the tablet as he held it to his side, “so that means you will have to get accustomed to the new mech in a short amount of time, do you think you can manage?”</p>
<p>The girl’s head nodded with vigor, “I’ll master it in no time, I won’t let you down!”</p>
<p>He brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck as he sighed, “I know you won’t…” He glanced at the tablet that was still off before his blue eyes returned to Hana’s, he looked tired, “you said you would keep your word, I will hold you to that, understand?”</p>
<p>Hana reigned in her excited energy, Jack was worried and she couldn’t blame him, “I understand,” she took a deep breath to slow down, “I promise I’ll keep my word.”</p>
<p>Jack watched her, his eyes almost piercing through her but she stood tall and determined, “okay, then that’s all I needed from you.” He lifted his arm to pat Hana’s shoulder before turning and moving on to the next thing he needed to get done.</p>
<p>The girl was almost buzzing with energy as she watched him round the corner. Nothing could ever replace her MEKA, but a mech built by Torbjorn would be the next best thing. Though what really put a smile on her face was that she could move forward, as long as she could pilot she’d prove that she was a hero.</p>
<p>She hurried down the halls, this time careful not to bump into anyone as she looked for Lena. After scouring the house she eventually found the brit out in the front yard, she sat cross legged on the grass as she stared off in the distance. She looked peaceful, so Hana made a mental note to slow down, not wanting her excitement to burst the calm atmosphere as she approached. It was rare to find Lena sitting still for more than a few minutes, so the couple of times Hana found her like this was strange, but welcome.</p>
<p>Hana sat in the grass, her knee bumping Lena’s in the process which pulled the brit out of her day dream, her head turned to the girl beside her as chestnut brown eyes lit up, “hiya, you comin’ to join me?”</p>
<p>”Oh,” Hana shifted her leg away to give Lena more space, “I didn’t mean to interrupt, I just wanted to tell you something.”</p>
<p>The brit shook her head with a smile, “no worries, love, you’re not really interrupting anything.” She tilted her head, a soft encouraging smile on her lips, “what’cha wanna tell me?”</p>
<p>Hana nervously rubbed the thighs of her pants, “well-” she bit her lip, “did- did you know about the Torbjorn thing?”</p>
<p>Lena’s features lit up with realization, “oh, Jack finally told you huh?” She giggled to herself, “I found out a little while ago but he said he wanted to be the one to tell you.” The brit reached out and patted Hana’s back, “I’m glad though, I feel safer when you have my back.”</p>
<p>”I’m glad you think so,” Hana lowered her head, though she couldn’t help but smile, “I actually wanted to ask you something else, a favor-” she paused at the word, it left a sour taste in her mouth.</p>
<p>”What’cha need?”</p>
<p>The younger girl looked off into the distance, seeing the sun now in the horizon as it’d soon be night time, perfect for a late night stream with the help from the best roomie, “I got some energy drinks packed, how late do you think you can stay up?” She turned back to wiggle her eyebrows at Lena.</p>
<p>The brit’s face lit up with a bubbly smile, “you wanna stream the very first day we’re at a new place?”</p>
<p>Hana nodded, “yeah! Well, after we set everything up,” her voice lowered to a mumble as she looked off into the distance, “and maybe add a bit more security measures.“</p>
<p>”Hmm?” Lena leaned closer to get a better listen, but Hana playfully shoved her away, “hey!”</p>
<p>Hana chuckled, “do you want to? It’s okay if you say no, <em>eonni</em>.”</p>
<p>Lena pushed off the floor and dusted her pants, getting rid of the stray blades of grass, “I’d love to.”</p>
<p>”Alright!” Hana’s previous energy suddenly returned as she shot up, “race you there?”</p>
<p>Chestnut brown eyes ignited with a competitive spark, “oh you are so on!”</p>
<p>”No blinks!”</p>
<p>”Won’t need ‘em!”</p>
<p>Hana’s own fire sparked in her eyes, she was ready, ready to get back out there, ready to fight and protect, ready to show the world that D.va was in fact a hero, even if they didn’t think so yet. She broke into a sprint, “then I guess you won’t mind if I get a head start?”</p>
<p>”Hey, that’s cheating!” Lena yelled from behind her, though from the sound of footsteps getting closer by the second, she knew she’d lose, but the way excitement filled her chest, she didn’t mind.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Regrets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kept you waiting huh? Honestly I've been wanting to get more chapters posted faster, but school and work have been kicking my butt as well as draining my energy. I'm not quitting though, I will get these chapters to you guys. Eitherway, sorry for the wait but I hope you enjoy! See you all again soon.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It didn’t rain that day. For most that was a good sign, a brighter world for a brighter mood, or maybe an omen of good luck, but Sombra was not most people. Rain, especially heavy rain, was good cover, it was difficult to make out details and the sky was always clouded over and darkened. It also helped when escaping, Sombra had gotten used to running on wet pavement, sliding could be used to her advantage and the downpour hitting cement would dampen the sound of her footsteps, not to mention getting rid of tracks.</p>
<p>Though it was definitely more than that. Growing up in the deserts of Mexico made rain a rare sight, fond memories of children filling the streets to play in puddles made Sombra’s heart swell with a nostalgic warmth. No, for Sombra rain was <em>good</em> fortune, a sign that the world was on her side and hers alone, and as a one woman army against the world, it was nice to have any kind of ally.</p>
<p>But the sky was clear, not a cloud in sight, so she had to wait until it was at least sunset. Dark enough to hide in the shadows, but light enough to sit on the edge of a roof top, watching as the sky melted into soft pinks and oranges, the first few stars of the night twinkling against the dark blue of the eastern horizon. That’s why she was up here after all, to enjoy the view before she had to take care of business.</p>
<p>Her attention instead was glued to her a single screen of her hologram, her violet eyes watching with a tinge of regret, a regret she would not accept. D.va had streamed a few nights ago from a new location, the clever girl had increased her security, but to Sombra it was still child’s play. Not that she would do anything with the information, as soon as she collected it she wiped it from her system’s storage. The thought of anybody else finding that information, it twisted an angry knot in her, <em>no one else should have it</em>.</p>
<p>She knew she shouldn’t have it either, but she couldn’t help herself, not when D.va presented herself with a bright smile and a hint of smug sass. It wasn’t obvious to the audience that the girl had streamed from a less than stellar environment, she had long learned how to properly set up green screens and her collection of plush animals and pillows to feign a cozy and beautiful set. Though what made Sombra’s eyes narrow was the inclusion of an annoying cheery british girl.</p>
<p>D.va and Tracer spent hours talking casually to each other and the audience, the laughs that burst out of D.va would normally make Sombra crack a smile of her own, but all she could do was glare. Glare at the smiles on the two’s faces, almost as if the damn stubborn girl hadn’t a care in the world, like those tears Sombra thought she saw had never existed, and maybe they didn’t.</p>
<p>”Ugh,” Sombra grumbled, “<em>No me importa</em>, couldn’t care less.” Despite her words, despite the glare, she continued to watch and rewatch clips and snippets. Her hands fished through her pockets, counting her tools and double checking if she had everything. She did, she had made sure an hour ago, and an hour before then, but she wasn’t really checking, she knew she had everything. She would count translocators and gadgets, but really her fingers would always find a small sticker.</p>
<p>A sticker of a small rabbit sleeping. She had no clue why she kept it, or why now whenever she was out she’d bring it with her. Maybe it was a reminder, a reminder to stay away, as that sticker should be her last, albeit insignificant, tie to D.va, as it should be. Her glare faded to a frown as she watched the current clip end, D.va and Tracer’s features stopped in a slice of time. Stuck in a moment where the girl’s smile was wide as she laughed at a donation message.</p>
<p>Sombra didn’t know if she felt disappointed or relieved. It seemed like D.va had already moved on from their confrontation. The empty feeling in her chest hadn’t disappeared since then, and it was frustrating. She couldn’t understand why this one girl, this one incredibly naive, stubborn, annoying yet hopeful, passionate, and determined girl seemed to get under her skin so easily. Not when she had made it a habit to never become attached, to never give anyone the power to manipulate her.</p>
<p>The last time she felt like this, she was much too young and stupid, wrapped in with the wrong kind of people who used her own youthful idealism against her. Sombra sighed and pulled her hands out from her pockets to flick away her holograms. Those were memories she would not like to recall as she did her best to push it out of her thoughts.</p>
<p>Violet eyes instead turned toward the horizon and waved away her holograms, she watched as the oranges slowly grew darker, the pinks shifting to reds while keeping an ear out for the street below her. The street was nothing special, it had sparse traffic and didn’t seem to have any noteworthy store fronts tied to it. No, she didn’t care much for the street, what she was here was the caravan of three armored black vans that turned onto the street from around a caffe.</p>
<p>Focus, she’d have to focus, normally it’d be easy to, she enjoyed what she did, but a certain set of fiery eyes had seared themselves into her memory. She forced them out by pushing off the ledge of the building. The sudden rush of air resistance and the feeling of gravity yanking her core down to the ground made her adrenaline pump. For a moment, the empty feeling in her chest was instead filled with a swell of excited fear as she watched as the pavement got closer and closer.</p>
<p>Her arm reached up, a newly designed wrist band was affixed to her wrist, this one a bit bigger but more fitting of her attire. The piece was black with purple accented stripes, it was much sturdier than the prototypes she had used on her last infiltration, the bigger design was intended to grip onto more of Sombra’s forearm for leverage. A barrel just under her wrist extended before a grapple claw fired out from it, she twisted her arm to wrap the rope around her hand.</p>
<p>Just before hitting solid ground the claw found purchase and it’s rope was pulled taut. The added support from the new design alleviated strain from Sombra’s shoulder as her momentum was slowed. The grapple hook diverted her momentum and swung her forward, over the street and the three black vans which passed below her at just the right moment. She pulled a translocator from her pocket and let it drop as she braced herself for impact. The swing threw her into the side of a tall apartment building, using her free arm to grip onto a window sill.</p>
<p>The wristband unlatched from the rope, leaving it to sway in the gentle evening breeze. Sombra turned her head and narrowed her eyes to watch the vans drive off, the translocator that she dropped had landed squarely in the center of the last van’s roof. “<em>Perfecto</em>,” Sombra whispered with a grin. A sudden tapping brought her attention to the window she was currently perched on, or rather what was behind the window. She turned her head to see a young girl, no older than 7 staring wide eyed at her. “Whoops,” Sombra muttered before she flashed the girl a smirk and gave her a small wave, “<em>Hola chiquita
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  <em>Sombra raised her hand to bring a finger to her lips, the young girl nodded and mirrored the action. The hacker’s smirk widened before she activated her translocator, shifting her position above the van within seconds. Wind resistance forced her to lower her center of gravity, planting one hand on the roof of the van so she wouldn’t be blown off. Her hand fished into her pocket, retrieving a capsule the size of a marker into her wristband. Once the new grapple hook was loaded she fired it into the metal of the vehicle, which the claw ripped through and gripped onto effortlessly.</em>
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<p>Sombra yanked at the rope a couple of times to make sure it was secure, once satisfied she slowly moved to the back end of the van. Carefully, she slid off the roof of the van and used one hand to rappel down and onto the locked double doors. Her other hand then retrieved a lockpick from her pocket. Lock picking with one hand was usually considered a struggle, but Sombra unlocked the doors of the moving van within seconds. She opened one door just enough to slip another translocator in before closing it again.</p>
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<p>The translocator was activated, shunting Sombra into the vehicle with no one the wiser. Once inside she was surrounded by multiple crates and boxes, all of which were tied down to prevent any damage. “Well,” Sombra whispered to herself, “guess it’s gotta be here somewhere.” She unfastened the boxes and crates as she searched, carelessly ripping them open and digging through the obscene amount of packaging.</p>
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<p>Boxes began to shift back and forth as the van sped up and slowed down now that they were left haphazardly opened, but the hacker paid it no mind. “Aha! Here you are,” Sombra grinned as she removed a black cracked shell that held snapped boards and wires, another fragment that was in the middle of being relocated. Well it’s still gonna be relocated, but the destination has changed.</p>
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<p>Sombra pocketed the fragment as she looked around, multiple boxes and crates opened as they dangerously slid back and forth. She chuckled to herself, it was always fun to make a mess. She pulled out one last translocator before opening the van door again, this time she let the door fling open as she threw her translocator out onto the street. Sombra watched it slide to a stop before activating it and being teleported out onto the middle of the street.</p>
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<p>She watched as the vans drove off, the last of which completely unaware of the cargo that slowly poured out from the opened back doors. Boxes and crates of valuables tumbling onto asphalt, stray pieces of technology and artifacts clattering out as the black vehicles disappeared around a corner.</p>
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<p>Sombra slipped the fragment out from it’s pocket, inspecting the damage like she had done with the rest, mentally piecing it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Close, she was close to finishing it, she had about 75% of the whole thing if she were to guesstimate. It’d also take time to figure out how to fix it, but she’d get done with this job soon, and after she could disappear again. Talon wouldn’t be very happy after being ditched but she was growing tired and wary of their antics.</p>
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<p>As the adrenaline began to leave her system she felt the emptiness in her chest return. Again she enjoyed what she did, she was the best at it, but somehow it wouldn’t matter because just as she was done with a job the damn feeling would come back. It didn’t seem worth it anymore, she was always good at disappearing anyway, she sincerely doubted anyone would miss her.</p>
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<p>A silent shaky sigh rolled through her nose as she slipped the fragment back into her pocket. She flicked out her wrist to recall her holograms, the last page opened was the clip of D.va’s stream, which Sombra flinched at as she quickly swiped it away. <em>She wouldn’t care, she hates me anyway</em>. The hacker closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to rid all of it from her mind, but the nagging of her chest wouldn’t help.</p>
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<p>She reopened her eyes to find the next D.va free screen, though what replaced it was much worse, a message from <em>Akande</em>. An eyebrow rose as her arms instinctively crossed, “what do you want, <em>menso</em>,” a murmur filled with an incredible amount of disdain left her as she reached out to tap the icon and open the message.</p>
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<p>Doomfist: Paderborner Strasse 94 Apt. 43</p>
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<p>Sombra stared at the message, puzzled. It was an address she knew that, but what did it mean, and why would he send it? It wasn’t a mistake, Akande is surprisingly meticulous so it was definitely sent to her on purpose. Did he want to make an agreement somewhere? She hadn’t been notified beforehand.</p>
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<p>Realization hit her like a truck, her heart threatened to jump out of her chest as she rapidly typed in commands into her system for a pickup from her stolen drop ship. She then swiped away the holograms and ran as fast as her legs could take her. If it had been raining she could’ve been faster, it would’ve been easier to have the drop ship nearby, but with the sun still setting in the horizon it was still light enough that she’d have to be picked up from a less populated area.</p>
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<p>As anxiety bubbled up her throat, her breathing ragged from running for so long, the feeling was reminiscent of when a feisty brunette had tricked her. Normally the memory of D.va’s clever ploy would annoy the hacker, but currently it was a fond memory by comparison. Not that Akande couldn’t be clever, but that was the issue, D.va’s schemes could never compare to the sheer violence Akande’s plans involved.</p>
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<p>And those plans involved the address of a bartender girl who Sombra was admittedly somewhat fond of. Many have died to her hands, many have suffered by Sombra’s decisions, but those people had it coming, the poor girl didn’t deserve whatever sick twisted torture Akande would happily indulge himself in.</p>
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<p>That’s why when she arrived at the destination and found the dropship slowly lowering itself to the ground she jumped onto the ship’s open hangar, commanding it to take off even though it never properly landed and she was in the middle of pulling herself up. She was in a hurry, not because there was a time limit, but because her time had already ran up. By now the girl could be a thin layer of paste plastered along the walls of her apartment like a new coat of crimson paint, and all cause the self righteous motherfucker is throwing a tantrum.</p>
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<p>Sombra guessed no one’s bothered to stand up to Akande, unless they were the enemy, it was a miracle that Reaper somehow had him on a leash or otherwise he’d be leading a one man militia through the streets of whatever unfortunate city he stumbled through. He acted like an entitled child, a child that wielded one of the most powerful relics in the world and could tumble a building with one punch, and Sombra was on his petty hit list.</p>
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<p>It wasn’t long until the drop ship began to lower, she made sure to set it at its highest speed, which wasn’t recommended as it’d shorten the life span of the jets, but she saw it as a trade, a trade she would’ve taken again in a heartbeat. The hangar door opened and she jumped out of the ship, the distance between her and the new black concrete surprised her, but she pointed her arm up, using the grapple hook to latch onto the drop ship and slowing her descent.</p>
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<p>Though it wasn’t much help, even as she landed as best as she could, tucking in and rolling to control the damage from impact, she still felt her knees burn in pain as she began her sprinting. The sun had set by now and the narrow alleyways were now dark and quiet, as she preferred, but as a safety precaution she threw up her stealth camouflage, a series of small holograms around her that imitated the surrounding environment to render her practically invisible, as long as she didn’t run into anyone.</p>
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<p>The only trace of the hacker was her labored breathing and almost silent footsteps as she sprinted. The cold air filled her lungs and burned her chest, her legs now screamed in pain but she kept pushing and pushing until she found a familiar apartment complex. The place was drab, it sat on a forgotten empty street and was covered in graffiti. Sombra accidently kicked a few empty beer bottles that were laden on the sidewalk. The sound which alerted a homeless bum who peeked his head around the bend to find no one despite staring right at Sombra.</p>
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<p>She took in a deep breath, <em>calm down</em>, she gave herself a second to refocus. She watched as the homeless man muttered to himself while disappearing into his alley before reaching for the door, she quietly pushed it open, just enough for her to slip through and make no noise. Once inside she beelined it to the stairs. Her destination was only on the second floor, and there were too many potential issues with elevators, it was the smart decision even if it made her legs beg for a break.</p>
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<p>Though what really bothered Sombra was how quiet the building's inhabitants were. None seemed to notice the possible danger of their current location and seemed to be going along with their lives. Two tenants were smoking in the lobby, and only one couple were bickering halfway outside their apartment door. It was normal, which meant what Akande had in mind was <em>much</em> worse than leveling the whole building into a pile of dirt.</p>
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<p>Sombra found the door that served as a pleasant distraction a few good weeks ago, though now she hesitated to open it. Right now it was quiet, she was undetected and there seemed to be no commotion, but after she opened this door, all of that would change in ways she couldn’t even begin to imagine. She could barely picture what would be behind this door without feeling queasy, let alone what Akande had in mind for her. Sombra felt the urge to turn, to run, to escape and never see this place, Akande, or any of Talon’s idiotic wolves again. It wouldn’t be easy, but it’d be easier than stepping through this door and potentially getting herself and people who didn’t deserve to die killed.</p>
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<p>But as these feelings surfaced a new image sprung to her mind, a set of soft brown eyes with a fire so vibrant behind them that it somehow burned all the anxiety, fear and pain in her legs away. So before she could begin to second guess herself she reached out and turned the knob, busting into the apartment.</p>
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<p>Only to find it peaceful and relatively undisturbed. Everything was as she remembered, but the light was on, and a potted plant that led to the bedroom had tipped over and busted open onto the carpet floor. Sombra’s nails dug into her palm as she ran past the spilled soil, into the small hallway before pushing open the bedroom door.</p>
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<p>She was still stealthed as the door swung open, the light was off and she was met with a gasp and incoherent muttering. She saw no one, it was dark, the whole room was a mess, trinkets and items scattered across the floor. Though there were many red stains, across the carpet as well splattered against the walls. Sombra’s heart dropped as she finally recognized the source of the noise.</p>
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<p>The bartender girl she couldn’t even manage to remember the name of was huddled up against the corner of her dark room, trying desperately to shove herself further into the corner as her bloodied legs manically pushed against the floor, her arms thrown over her head as she slouched to protect her vitals.</p>
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<p>All that came from her were whimpers and whispers begging for it to stop. Sombra was stunned, she was mortified, but her worry pulled her forward. As she got closer she removed her sealth holograms before noticing how the girl was still bleeding along with the multitude fresh bruises along her body, and the way one arm bent unnaturally halfway through the forearm almost made Sombra cringe.</p>
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<p>She instead slowly reached out, “hey… <em>chiquita</em>, it’s okay, you’re safe now…” she cooed as she tried to calm the poor girl down. Though she was suddenly met with a flurry of panicked kicks and weak punches.</p>
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<p>”Get away from me!” The girl screeched as she tried to push herself further and further into the corner.</p>
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<p>Sombra paused for a moment, she bit her lip as her brow knit together, “<em>Chica</em>,“ she whispered, “it’s okay, it’s okay I’m here to help.”</p>
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<p>The girl’s frantic flailing slowed as she peaked over her arms, one eye swollen shut while tears streamed down her cheeks. She seemed confused but relaxed a bit, “wh-what are-.”</p>
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<p>”I’m here to help,” Sombra slowly moved forward, showing the girl that her hands were empty, “I’m gonna pick you up okay?”</p>
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<p>As Sombra reached out to get a secure grip around the girl, the hacker felt her tense to the touch, but eventually she relaxed, at least as much as she possibly could. Sombra slowly stood with the girl in her arms, holding her bridal style and being very careful not to bump into anything.</p>
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<p>The girl who’s name Sombra didn’t know buried her face into the hacker’s shoulder. She couldn’t inspect her injuries like this, especially not here. So Sombra moved, carrying the girl out of the apartment, she pulled up her stealth technology around both of them. The system wasn’t intended to cloak two people, but with how the girl tightly curled into Sombra, the holograms didn’t seem to have much trouble covering them. With the poor girl pressed up against her, Sombra could feel how violently she trembled and how tightly her fingers gripped onto Sombra’s clothes.</p>
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<p>They slipped out of the building entirely undetected, and as much as the girl was shaking she never made a sound. She always did seem rather quiet, but the silence made Sombra uncomfortable, it made her constantly check to see if the girl was still conscious or not.</p>
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<p>The sudden night’s cold hit Sombra through a gust of wind as they made their way through back allies. She hurried as much as she could, Sombra knew that if this girl wasn’t treated quickly she wouldn’t survive this night.</p>
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<p>”Don’t worry, <em>chiquita</em>, we’re almost there,” the hacker reassured, the drop ship wasn’t too far away but she needed the girl to stay conscious, “talk to me, how are you feeling?”</p>
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<p>Impossibly, the girl’s hands gripped tighter on Sombra’s cloak as she took a shaky breath, “seriously…?” Her voice was hoarse, Sombra could barely hear her, “that’s what you ask me?”</p>
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<p>If it were any other situation Sombra would have been a fan of the snarky response, but the anxiety never stopped boiling in her chest. The feeling was the only thing holding her previous apathy at bay, but it definitely was not preferred. “C’mon now,” the hacker’s usual wit was gone, she couldn’t banter right now, not with a broken girl in her arms who’s name she couldn’t even remember and the looming feeling of guilt, “I just need you to talk to me, <em>chiquita</em>.”</p>
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<p>Somehow the girl scoffed, “you should’ve just left me there- he’s-” the girl choked on her own words, her angry facade crumbling as she began to sob.</p>
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<p>Sombra’s face twisted, furious, she was furious now, “no,” a soft murmur of defiance, “I shouldn’t have.”</p>
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<p>”He-” the girl tried to speak through her sobs, through panicked breaths and exhaustion from the amount of pain she’d gone through, “he said- he kept saying that no one would care-” she finally peaked up, “I thought he was right-”</p>
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<p>The hacker couldn’t help but gently squeeze the girl tighter against her, “no, he isn’t,” Sombra paused as they moved, she knew what she should say, but she had to force it out, “I care…” it was barely audible, “<em>perdóname, chiquita</em>, I’m sorry.”</p>
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<p>Sombra wasn’t sure if she was heard, half of her would have been relieved, but the way the girl loosened her grip and looked up, it made the hacker feel conflicted. It was then Sombra finally spotted the drop ship, hangar still open and waiting. She had no more words to say, and it seemed like the girl didn’t either so they were left in silence as they entered the ship, the soft whirring of the propellers was the only sound as even the girls sobs shrunk to nothing.</p>
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<p>The hacker set her down on one of the seats, crouching down next to her to inspect her injuries. Bruises and cuts lined along her body, Sombra could only guess at what Akande had used to slice up her skin as the cuts were ragged and unclean, almost like he sawed at her with a dull kitchen knife.</p>
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<p>Sombra shivered at the thought, so she pushed the imagery out of her head as she inspected the broken arm. She used her fingers to feel the damage that was made to the bone, which made the girl flinch with ever prod.</p>
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<p>”Here,” Sombra reached up to rip a bit of cloth from her sleeve, wrapping it around an empty magazine she always had on her, “bite this.”</p>
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<p>The girl did what was asked, but the confusion in her one open eye didn’t leave until Sombra grabbed the girl’s arm, and set the bone back into place as quickly as precision would allow. The girl jolted upright as she let out a hoarse yell.</p>
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<p>Sombra reached up and retrieved the magazine, with the girl’s mouth now unobstructed the hacker could hear her heavy breathing, “that’ll do for now,” she stood to go retrieve as much of the ship’s stocked first aid as possible.</p>
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<p>”Wait-” the meak voice behind her made Sombra stop and peak over her shoulder, “where are we going?”</p>
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<p>Sombra let out a heavy sigh, “you, are going somewhere safer,” she stated quite frankly as she moved again, quickly finding the compartment she was looking for.</p>
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<p>”What about my apartment?”</p>
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<p>Sombra shuffled through the compartment, taking everything she could hold before turning around, “it’s not safe there anymore.”</p>
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<p>The girl opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but instead stopped, she closed her mouth and simply leaned back into her seat as Sombra kneeled down next to her. The hacker set all the first aid she collected down on the floor before beginning to apply what was needed. A process she had done to herself many times before.</p>
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<p>Sombra watched as the girl winced while she disinfected and applied bandages, “tonight is gonna be a long night, <em>chica</em>, just try to get comfy.”</p>
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<p>”Ha,” the girl replied dryly, “sure.” She narrowed her one good eye at Sombra, “why do you keep calling me that?”</p>
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<p>”Calling you what?” The hacker panicked, her eyes laser focusing on the next bandage she was applying.”</p>
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<p>After another second of silence the girl finally piped up, “you don’t even remember my name-” she said so softly it was barely heard, but the way Sombra reacted one could have guessed it blew out her ear drums. “You said you cared-”</p>
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<p>”Listen,” Sombra blurted out, “I’m just not good with names, okay? <em>No les recuerdo</em>.”</p>
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<p>Another long silence that was occasionally filled with barely audible whimpers as Sombra continued to treat the multitude of injuries followed. Only to be eventually broken, “Eli, my name is Eli.”</p>
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<p>The hacker’s violet eyes looked up to finally meet Eli’s one good eye. Despite the other being swollen over and the cuts and bruises on her face Sombra still found the light brown shade of her iris alluring. It was almost the same shade as D.va’s. The thought tugged at Sombra’s chest in a weird way, the fire behind D.va’s eyes, they didn’t have the fire.</p>
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<p>She pushed the thought out of her head, “good to know,” Sombra mumbled as she turned back to her work.</p>
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<p>”I don’t get your name back?” Eli’s hoarse tone made the hacker frown.</p>
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<p>”Sombra,” she was curt with her response.</p>
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<p>Eli shifted slightly, which made Sombra have to reapply a bandage, and just as she was about to tell the girl to sit still her tired voice spoke up, “that’s not actually your name.”</p>
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<p>The hacker reapplied the bandage without a complaint, “no.”</p>
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<p>”Can I get your real name?”</p>
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<p>Sombra remained silent, her focus now only on treating Eli, which made the girl sigh, one long shaky sigh.</p>
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<p>”Olivia,” the hacker finally responded, which made the girl who she was treating perk up, “keep it a secret, <em>porfavor</em>.”</p>
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<p>Eli’s reply was a soft smile as she shook her head. The gesture didn’t ease Sombra’s anxiety, she hadn’t spoken her own name in years and it was better that way, but it was worth it, worth it to see the girl who’s gone through hell because of Sombra’s own mistakes at least smile.</p>
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<p>Sombra had said it herself, tonight was going to be a long night. She was taking Eli somewhere very far away, a place where, after she’s treated at a hospital, the hacker would form a new identity for the girl and make sure she was untrackable. She had done it many times before, but this was the first time she’d attempt it with someone else. She hoped, hoped that there Eli would be safe.</p>
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<p>And as the hacker finished treating Eli she heard a soft jingle in her ear, one silent to anyone but her. A notification alert, one that brought the bubbling anxiety back ten fold as she turned and pulled up one hologram screen, small enough so that Eli couldn’t peak.</p>
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<p>Doomfist: No more mistakes.</p>
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<p>Sombra’s jaw tightened as she stared at the message, her nails dug into her palm. She wanted to scream with rage. He was still toying with her, fucking with her because of his idiotic beliefs. Though what really made Sombra’s blood boil was that he was right, these were her mistakes, she should have never allowed Eli to get involved, she should have never let Doomfist see her fear. The wolves she thought she could handle were getting closer, their howls looming over her like a siren. She was beginning to regret ever working with Talon.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Ready?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm really sorry for the longer span between chapters. I would like to upload these on a more consistent basis but I have to be a responsible (boring) adult and take care of more "important" things first, like work and school, which has been eating up a lot of my time and energy. I have so much planned for this, and hopefully you guys will stick around for it. Oh and thank you for 50+ kudos everybody, I really appreciate the feedback and support I've been getting.<br/>Anyway we're getting close to a big turn in the story and I hope you guys are just as excited as I am! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was cloudy that day, the sky was a blanket of creamy white. Though enough sunlight beamed through, enough for the grass and leaves to be a deep vibrant green, and yet it never rained. The outside air was humid, but not sweltering, unlike the heat inside Hana’s new mech. Much to the brunette’s dismay, Torbjorn’s staple in his engineering was to use molten metal as both an energy source and ammunition.</p><p>Though Hana didn’t mind much, being in the pilot seat again made her feel like she was flying, even if this particular mech couldn’t launch off the ground like her original. Though it was somehow just as fast as the MEKA unit she was used to. The fusion core would need a good time to recharge after every short flight, the jet boosters in the back would eat a lot of energy if she wasn’t careful.</p><p>Torbjorn’s new mech, which she lovingly nicknamed Yeol, had boosters as well, but they used the compressed heat energy from the core to give incremental bursts, so they couldn’t lift the mech off the floor. Though, it did hold two bursts that quickly refilled, which let Hana dash back and forth, sliding across the ground with the bipedal legs that had wheels just for such purpose. Each time Yeol would lurch side to side using these boosts it’d leave behind a trail of steam and heat that warped the air around it.</p><p>The four arms were incredibly useful as well, two held canons that looked very similar to her MEKA’s fusion canons, but instead fired molten metal rather than plasma pellets. Due to this she only had four shots in each before they would have to refill through a very fun to watch process in which tubing from the core of Yeol would transfer molten metal to the canons. They were obviously inspired by the alternative shotgun fire from Torbjorn’s rivet gun.</p><p>Though the most exhilarated feature was the other pair of arms, or what those arms were designed to hold. It was as much of a surprise to Jack as it was to Hana when Yeol arrived with a hammer that could almost rival Reinhardt’s, <em>almost</em>. This giant hammer was not rocket powered, but it was definitely huge, at least compared to Hana. The claw-like hands of Yeol’s upper set of arms seemed to naturally clamp around the hammer’s handle, and the weight of each swing was such an intoxicating feeling, no wonder it was Reinhardt’s preferred weapon of choice.</p><p>Hana let go of one of the solid black joysticks that were placed right in front of her, inside the cockpit protected by the dome windshield, to wipe away the sweat from her brow. A voice chimed through the comm piece that clung to her ear, “awe, are you getting tired love? What’s wrong, can’t keep up?” Lena’s teasings were followed by a bubbly giggle as she blinked into Hana’s view, standing tall on the green grass as she placed her hands on her hips.</p><p>Hana’s brows furrowed while she felt an itch of annoyance, yet a grin still pulled at her lips as her hand found its rightful place wrapped around the corresponding joystick. “I’m gonna make you eat those words!” Hana slammed her controls forward, pulling the tertiary triggers placed under her middle fingers which used one of the dash charges. She left a trail of steam as well as kicked up dirt as Yeol lurched forward, it’s hammer raising up into the sky before slamming onto Lena.</p><p>Or at least scattering the dirt and smashing the grass where Lena was before. A blue ribbon of energy lead to the brit’s new position. Hana heard another burst of giggles through her ear piece, “well you’re gonna have to be faster than that.”</p><p>Hana yanked the hammer followig Lena’s trail, tearing through the ground before swinging it out into an open swing. Though Lena was just outside of Yeol’s reach, she waved with a snicker before blinking again. Hana’s eyes narrowed as her jaw clenched, she took a deep breath as a small smug grin appeared on her face</p><p>She pulled her joysticks back forcing Yeol to boost backwards, she then quickly spun the mech around, it’s roller skate like feet twisting to keep momentum. Hana heard a metallic thud and a huff from her ear piece. “Oops, didn’t mean to bump you!” Hana teased, she knew she’d crash into Lena who enjoyed blinking through and behind larger targets, luckily Yeol was faster than most lumbering giants.</p><p>”Cheeky…” Lena muttered, just loud enough for Hana to hear through the ear piece. Hana’s smug grin grew wider as she lifted Yeol’s hammer up into the sky again, as she stared down at Lena who was attempting to regain her footing. Lena let out a gasp and squeal before flashing into a bright blue light.</p><p>”Got you,” Hana whispered to herself triumphantly as she let Yeol’s hammer drop, turning the mech and slamming her joysticks forward at an empty spot where dirt and grass had been torn apart. The giant hammer slammed onto the ground as Yeol sprinted toward his destination, clawed arms reaching out to empty space. Empty space that suddenly began to flicker with a bright blue light of chronal energy.</p><p>Hana grew excited yet cautious, making sure to be extra careful as Yeol’s metal claws wrapped around the light, which culminated into a very surprised Lena. Three seconds prior to getting slammed by a mech, so the bruising that would’ve swelled in her arms were now gone, technically never were.</p><p>Lena's chestnut brown eyes were wide as saucers as she found herself trapped in Yeol’s claws. Her chronal accelerator whirred, but sputtered as the brit tried to blink again and failed. Hana had kept count in her head, the chronal accelerator only ever had three charges that took just enough time to recharge to give the pilot this one opening.</p><p>”Great job, you’ve been improving quickly,” Jack’s gruff voice rumbled through the ear piece which made Hana smirk as she silently congratulated herself.</p><p>”Yeah!” Lena piped up, “you’ve only had this beast of a machine for a day and you’re already catching up to me!” The brit then squirmed against Yeol’s grip, “but could you maybe let me go?” She added with an impatient grin.</p><p>Hana blinked, “oh, “ she carefully pulled the joysticks back, letting go of Lena who then began stretching out, “sorry about that <em>eonni</em>,” she voiced back sheepishly. A bit of sweat dripped into Hana’s eye, which made her flinch as she used her body suit to wipe it away.</p><p>Jack stepped up in front of the cockpit, clipboard in hand, “alright, we’re gonna need to get you out of there before you pass out from dehydration.” He twirled his finger in the air as he began to step away, “I know you want to be prepared but you’ve already been in there for five hours, it doesn’t matter how much you train if you drain yourself.”</p><p>Hana wanted to object, she had <em>finally</em> caught up to Lena and she felt ready for more, but she knew Jack was right. She was starting to feel dizzy, and the way her suit was sticking to her skin made her relent. Her arm reached up to the top of the cockpit, yanking at a handle which made Yeol kneel as the dome-like windshield shifted to the side, the sound of multiple gears cranking slowed once the cockpit was open.</p><p>The cool evening air immediately hit Hana’s skin, it felt refreshing but she couldn’t help but shiver. She only grew colder as she stepped out of Yoel’s warmth, and though it was nice to leave the heat behind, the cool air made Hana hold her arms as her own sweat amplified the chill of the breeze.</p><p>A sudden arm wrapped around her shoulders as she was pulled into a sideways hug as Lena walked alongside her, “let’s get you inside love,” her eyebrows quirked as she perked her nose up, moving her head to follow whatever scent she picked up, only for her to sniff Hana and recoil, “woah! You need a shower!”</p><p>Hana’s face soured as she shoved Lena away, she’d rather deal with being cold than being told she stinked, “shut up,” she bit back, but only was met with a burst of giggles. Despite being teased she couldn’t help but smile, even if she tried to hide it.</p><p>Lena pulled the younger girl into another sideways hug as they walked, one that Hana didn’t push away from, even as she failed to stay indignant. “I’m just messing with you, c’mon I don’t want you catchin’ a cold.”</p><p>Inside their new small abode the air was definitely warmer, but it somehow felt stale, not nearly as fresh as the cool air outside. Hana figured it was a new quirk to get used to now that they were here, at least they didn’t have to fix the flooring and get rid of whatever plant life found its way through the floorboards like their old place. Though there were definitely way more spiders here</p><p>Before she could really take a breather she was being pushed down the small hallway and into the small bathroom near the room she shared with Lena. “Hey!” Hana tried to protest but she was already through the doorway by the time she realized where she was being thrown into.</p><p>”Trust me,” Lena poked her head through the door, “you’re gonna wanna shower,” she added with a sympathetic yet knowing nod before slipping away and closing the door, leaving Hana alone.</p><p>Hana quirked an eyebrow as she raised her arm to sniff her armpit, only to flinch at the smell, “woah, okay- yeah…” she relented as she looked around the bathroom. This wasn’t the first time she’d been in here, but this was the first time she’d shower here. It was surprisingly clean for being abandoned so long, the walls were tiled and so was the floor. There was a sink that was missing the warm water knob as well as a flat counter top that held some hair products.</p><p>The brunette was sure that this countertop would be covered in all kinds of hair products by the end of the week. Even Lena, who preferred the rolled out of bed style, had her own share of detanglers, not to mention the amount of special dyes and shampoos Zarya uses to keep her hair pink.</p><p>There was also a large mirror above said sink and countertop. It sat flush, almost as if it was custom made for this wall, though it was cracked in one corner. The trailed lines of the cracked glass centered on a focal point in the bottom right corner, it almost look like someone had punched it. Though the left side was almost free of damage, at least enough for Hana to look at herself in the mirror.</p><p>She hadn’t gotten to in a while, their full body mirror that she and Lena used was still packed in some box she hadn’t bothered to sift through. She was thinner than the last time she’d seen herself, though she wasn’t sure if that were entirely true, sometimes how she felt affected how she perceived her reflection. Something Angela had told her a while ago, to not pick out each and every flaw she could find on herself as it wasn’t healthy.</p><p>Though it was difficult not to. Even through her bodysuit she could see the outline of her ribs, or the way her hip bones protruded, or how pale her skin seemed. She was used to negative comments about her image, she received them every day online, the especially nasty ones were on particular forums dedicated to ragging on her.</p><p>She may or may not have scoured through the posts one night when she was especially curious. Some of the words stuck with her, some didn’t, though as she stared at herself in the mirror she only heard one voice, and one statement.</p><p>”<em>I just saw an impressionable girl with a big audience</em>”</p><p>It was then that Hana finally could sympathize with whoever cracked this mirror. Her hands tightened into fists as she glared at the reflection. All she could see was a girl glaring back, not a woman, not a hero, just a girl, a kid.</p><p>She let out a shaky sigh as she composed herself, closing her eyes to rid herself of such thoughts. Instead she realigned her attention to the shower, and how to mess with the water levels to get it to just how she liked it, almost scalding. The hot water was inviting in a way, the warmth was nicer than the cold air that dared to make Hana shiver again, but the pain also let her forget, it made it easier to not think.</p><p>All she’d have to worry about is the heat, the warmth of the water against her skin, and the way it washed away the sweat and grime, the anxiety and anger. She leaned against the wall, the cold tiles against her shoulder and side of her head a stark contrast with the almost burning water. <em>Lena was right, I did need a shower</em>, she smirked at the thought.</p><p>But unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and Hana’s day was far from over so she took the time to actually wash up. Using her preferred cherry scented shampoo and conditioner, a specific korean brand she had hoarded when she got the chance. It reminded her of home, since it was the same brand her mother had given her since she was a child. She sighed and pushed those thoughts away, now was not the time to be home sick.</p><p>Once Hana stepped out of the shower, she felt the cold air hit her skin once more, but she quickly toweled up, and just as quickly dried herself so that she didn’t have to shiver anymore, she hated shivering. As she did so she caught another glimpse of herself in the mirror, and despite wanting to ignore the urge and look away she found herself staring at the reflection.</p><p>She still looked thin, she still looked pale, now that she was out of the body suit she could see every spec and detail she despised. Worst of all she looked young, not just youthful, but childish. She wasn’t tall and elegant like Angela, she was nowhere near built like the powerhouse that was Zarya, she didn’t even have Lena’s signature legs that seemed to go on forever. No, she was just under average height, she wasn’t particularly curvy, and she could probably pass as a sixteen year old with her face alone.</p><p><em>Just a girl</em>, apparently that’s all she ever could be.</p><p>A knock at the door startled the brunette, “hey, you didn’t fall down in the shower did you?” Lena’s question made Hana’s face burn, despite how worried she sounded</p><p>”No,” Hana responded, loud enough for Lena to hear her through the door, “I’m okay, I’ll be out in a second.”</p><p>”Mm, okay, but you sure you didn’t slip?” Lena’s voice chirped, Hana could hear the smile in her voice “I wouldn’t put it past ya!”</p><p>”No! Shut up, I’m fine!” Hana’s embarrassed flush only grew as she glared at the door, only to hear the brit’s bubbly laugh.</p><p>Hana’s glare slowly fell away into a smirk, that girl somehow made Hana feel better without knowing. Maybe she had some wicked sixth sense, like a sonar for bad emotions? Hana snorted, amused with her own musings. It didn’t take her long to get dressed, she wore comfy but fitting clothes, black leggins, soft pastel pink blouse, and had tied up her hair into a bun to keep it out of her face. Ignoring the mirror as she made her way back into the hallway.</p><p>In the small, nearly empty living room that wasn’t quite furnished yet except for a few chairs and a sofa Hana found Jack, Lena, and Angela. Seemingly in the midst of a mild argument. She instinctively hid behind the doorway and watched. Angela stood upright, as she always did, but her arms were crossed, and her eyebrows were etched ever so slightly, Hana knew that look, it meant she was angry, but she still spoke in an even tone.</p><p>”I just don’t understand why Lindholm thought it was perfectly fine to let Hana handle upwards to nearly forty degrees celsius while within the cockpit,” her hand gripped on to her coat, “she could pass out from dehydration under those conditions, and I hope I don’t have to explain why that would be disastrous during your mission, Jack.” Despite her usual calm demeanor, Hana knew how intimidating Angela could be when she felt protective.</p><p>Though Jack didn’t flinch, he replied calmly, “I have to admit that it is a substantial oversight in the mech’s design,” he raised his palm as the doctor quirked an eyebrow, “let me finish,” he dropped his hand as she remained quiet, “but you have to take into consideration that this mech was developed under tight time constraints, Torbjorn had made the cockpit as heat resistant as he possibly could with what resources he had and designed it all with Hana in mind.” He lifted up a clipboard with information given to him by Torbjorn and his own data he recorded during Hana and Lena’s training, “Hana is capable of staying conscious and aware for up to 6 hours while within the mech, and our mission will only require a quarter of that time.”</p><p>Lena piped up, she was uncharacteristically meek, but she offered a small smile, “yeah Angie, Hana’s a tough girl she can handle a bit of heat.”</p><p>Angela’s lips pursed, “I know what Hana is capable of.”</p><p>”Precisely,” Jack said, “you are aware that Hana is capable of handling this mech, you and I have both seen how quickly she’s learning to pilot it.” He paused for a moment, sighing as he reached out and placed a hand on Angela’s shoulder, “I know you worry about her Angela, we all do, but she’s also capable of much more than we’ve been giving her credit for.”</p><p>”I don’t mean to gang up on you, Angie,” Lena piped up again as she flashed her signature puppy dog look, “but you gotta trust in her.”</p><p>The blonde sighed as she brought a hand up to her forehead, the hint of tense anger in her expression melted away, “I-I know, I just can’t help but worry.”</p><p>As their argument slowed to a halt Hana suddenly felt awkward watching, so she ducked back, taking a second to take a deep breath before rounding the corner, “hey guys, what’s up?” She played dumb as she took a step in.</p><p>The three of them all snapped their attention to her, Lena instantly diverting her eyes as she sheepishly whistled, Angela’s eyes snapped back up as she hid her worried expression with a smile, while Jack remained mostly unperturbed.</p><p>”<em>Liebling</em>,” Angela was the only one to respond, “we were just discussing how quick you’ve been improving,” she stepped forward as she placed a hand on Hana’s arm, “it’s been quite impressive.”</p><p>If Hana hadn’t been here the whole time she would’ve fallen for the smile and the praise. Though now even she could see the cracks in the masks. She wondered if they had been there the whole time, and why.</p><p>Yet she couldn’t help but play along, she knew that Angela could see through her acts, but it wasn’t her act to follow at this point, “thanks Angie, did you get to see me in action?” A grin pulled at her lips, her excitement wasn’t fake, but there was an underlying curiosity, a new worry. She couldn’t peel away the facades now, maybe later, maybe when she was feeling more brave, more deserving. After all if they were treating her like a kid because she was one, she’d just have to grow up a bit faster then, and step one was assisting her team in whatever way she could, no more mistakes.</p><p>”Mm,” the doctor shook her head, “my apologies, <em>liebling</em>, I did not.”</p><p>Hana shrugged with a smirk, “it’s cool Angie, I’m probably too fast while piloting Yeol it’d leave you dizzy.” Her comment lifted the spirits of the room, Lena’s bubbly giggles rolled out first, and after a moment of being taken aback both Jack and Angela chuckled.</p><p>”Yeol?” Angela asked her hand instinctively covering her smile, which still peeked through.</p><p>”Yep!” The brit stepped forward with a bounce, her hands held behind her, “she named the forearm machine Yeol, I thought it was pretty cute.”</p><p>”Cute?” Hana scoffed, “don’t you mean cool?”</p><p>”Mmm, no, it sounds like a name for a puppy to be frank!” Lena teased as Hana glared at her.</p><p>Their banter elicited a soft laugh from Angela, which made Hana feel a bit more relieved. In that moment both she and Lena shared a knowing look, it was always better to see Angela smile.</p><p>”Well,” Jack’s gruff voice cut through the laughter easily, but he seemed almost apprehensive about it, “you are free to name your mech whatever you like Hana, but you’re gonna need your rest, our mission is in twenty three hours.” Jack turned to the other two, “and that goes for both of you as well.”</p><p>Those words gave Hana a ball of nervous giddiness in her gut, as she responded with a nod. Lena gave Jack an over exaggerated salute complete with a wink, while Angela simply sighed and dismissed herself.</p><p>It was typical behavior at this point, the day before their excursions they would all steel themselves in their own ways. Lena liked to keep things light, it was clear she’d rather joke than worry, whereas Angela would become quiet while she double, triple, and quadruple checked everything.</p><p>Jack always seemed unaffected, but Hana could never tell if it was because he was always ready, or just hid his worry well. Hana’s method wasn’t very far from Lena’s, just don’t worry about it. Impulsivity was a staple characteristic of D.va, much to her family and allies’ chagrin, but it had its positives. It’s easy not to worry when you don’t think about it.</p><p>Though it didn’t always work, and unfortunately Hana was prone to panic attacks, so as everyone retired to their rooms, Lena stuck close by, a safety precaution Hana appreciated, but also at the same time despised.</p><p>”How ya feelin’, love?” The brit asked with a preemptive soothing tone.</p><p>So Hana flashed her a confident grin, “like I’m ready to kick butt.”</p><p>Lena couldn’t help but giggle, “and chew bubble gum?”</p><p>”Lena-” the brit’s bubbly behavior was always infectious, Hana could feel a smile tugging at her lips even as she tried to give Lena a playfully judging look, “that quote is like, <em>ancient</em>”</p><p>”Awe, c’mon it’s classic!” The brit pushed open the door to the room, only to give an extravagant bow, “after you m’lady.”</p><p>Hana rolled her eyes and scoffed, “cut it out, <em>eonni</em>, you’re being a dork again.”</p><p>”What, me a dork?” Lena placed a hand over her heart as she played dumb, “nooo…”</p><p>Hana could only shake her head with a smile as they entered their room. It had quickly become furnished during their stay here. Both their beds on either side of their room, Hana’s was full of stuffed animals while Lena’s was a mess of sheets. Hana’s computer setup was close to her bed like always, and they had left the green screen up since the last time they had streamed.</p><p>Both easily maneuvered through what little walking space they had as they made it to their own respective beds before turning off the lights. Each taking the time to get comfortable and lay down. Once they both had stopped rustling about in their sheets the silent night air was left between them. Hana wasn’t the biggest fan of the darkened silence before sleep, it left too much time to ruminate and wonder, to worry and panic. So as she stared up at the dark ceiling she opened her mouth to speak.</p><p>”Hey,” Lena’s voice filled the silence before words could slip past Hana’s lips, “is it really that bad inside of Yeol?”</p><p>Hana’s mouth opened and closed, she was caught off guard by the question, “what do you mean?”</p><p>Lena’s bed creaked as she shifted, her voice becoming a little easier to hear as she faced Hana in the darkness, “Angie said it was like forty degrees in there, you were basically sittin’ in an oven.”</p><p>”I-” Hana stammered, unsure how to answer, “I mean- it’s not really that bad.”</p><p>”You were drenched in sweat, love.” The brit’s voice started to teeter to her worried tone, a tone that made Hana squirm under her covers.</p><p>The younger girl searched for the right words, the perfect response to alleviate Lena’s worry, but she came up short, “I guess so,” was all she could muster as it was followed by a tense silence</p><p>”...How do you do it?” Lena murmured.</p><p>”Do… what?”</p><p>Hana heard Lena shift more, the old bed framed underneath groaned as the brit seemed to toss and turn, “how do you climb in there so easily when you know you’re gonna basically cook alive?” Another pause that seemed like eternity until Lena spoke again, though a bit quiet this time, “how do you keep climbing into those things even after what happened in Busan, after your nightmares?”</p><p>”I-...” much like the rest of the conversation, Hana couldn’t find the correct answer, she didn’t know what Lena wanted to hear. So she answered truthfully, “I just think about everything else- like the people who need us, the awful people we need to stop, the promises I’ve made…” Hana swallowed before she turned in her own bed to face the darkness that was Lena’s side of the room, “you’re asking me this like you don’t do the same thing. How do you even go out there, how do you even mess with your own time after what happened to you, <em>eonni</em>?”</p><p>A soft short breathy laugh filled the darkness, “trust me, it’s terrifying…” she took a deep breath, “but each time I can’t help but think about Emily, Mondatta-” an uncharacteristic hitch in the brit’s voice made Hana frown, “and you guys. I just think about how I gotta keep all of you safe.”</p><p>Hana wanted to say something, but she couldn’t, there were no words left to say, Lena knew everything she’d say by now anyway.</p><p>”Heh,” Lena snickered to herself, “we must be pretty messed up in the noggin, huh?”</p><p>Hana couldn’t help but chuckle, “yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>(-.-)Zzz</p><p> </p><p>The next morning was a blur. The day was spent preparing for their mission that would take up their evening and night. D.va was not permitted to enter Yeol until deemed necessary, they would need her to be able withstand his heat for as long as she could during the mission, so that meant not exhausting herself beforehand and staying hydrated. Angela had vehemently recommended that Hana should drink as much water as possible, so Hana obliged, at this point finishing her thirteenth bottle of water as she sat outside, waiting for their dropship to arrive.</p><p>There were no clouds that day, the sky shined a bright blue as the sun greeted the earth from the highest point of the sky. If a certain gruff southern alcoholic were here he would’ve drawled out the exact line that would’ve gotten on Hana’s nerves just to tease her. “Stupid cowboy…” Hana muttered with a small smirk. It had been a while since she’s seen McCree, or the rest of her allies outside of this small six man group.</p><p>Not that she had a problem with her designated division, she just missed Winston’s cheesy puns, Lucio’s boisterous energy, Reinhardt’s laugh, even McCree’s snarky humor. She shook her head as she took a deep breath, she wondered if they were okay, though she was sure she’d see them all again, she wasn’t sure why but she knew in her gut they’d all be okay. At least that’s what she hoped for.</p><p>She was pulled from her reminiscing as a hand ruffled her hair, a little too aggressively. She instinctively batted the hand away and glared up at the perpetrator only to be met with a hearty laugh and a shock of pink hair.</p><p>”What are you thinking so hard about, <em>zaika</em>?” Zarya asked as she placed her hand on her hip, already suited up in her armor.</p><p>The brunette did her best to unruffle her hair, “nothing.” Her curt response only make Zarya’s brow raise.</p><p>”Not nothing, I heard you.” Zarya crossed her arms.</p><p>Hana’s face burned with embarrassment, “Zar! How long have you been here?”</p><p>A surprisingly devious smirk appeared on the bodybuilder’s face, “maybe fifteen minutes.”</p><p>”Zar!” Hana stood to smack the body builder’s arm.</p><p>Zarya didn’t even flinch, instead she laughed, “it is okay <em>zaika</em>. I talk to myself all the time, it is nothing to be embarrassed over.”</p><p>The brunette huffed as she also crossed her arms, “I was just- just thinking about the others,” Hana muttered just loud enough for Zarya to hear, “you know, I miss them.” Hana looked around to make sure no one else was listening in.</p><p>”Ah,” Zarya’s heavy arm reached out to grab onto Hana’s shoulder, which made the younger girl flinch from the weight of the bodybuilders hand before being pulled into a sideways hug, “missing your comrades is nothing to be ashamed of, <em>zaika</em>! I miss all of them as well.”</p><p>Hana only continued to squirm until she slipped out of Zarya’s grasp, though of course it would've been impossible if the bodybuilder had actually been attempting to grapple her. Regardless, she was free, so with her new found freedom she turned to glare at Zarya,</p><p>Who only continued to laugh, “It is good to see you still have your spirit <em>zaika</em>, but do not let it blow off your head.” She ruffled Hana’s hair again, which only made the brunette’s hand ball into fists.</p><p>Hana only huffed, as she tried to fix her hair, “it’s ‘blow your top off,’ Zar,” she corrected.</p><p>”Zarya only shrugged, “Same thing, is it not?”</p><p>As Hana’s mouth opened to retort she was cut short by a spark of blue energy, “hiya,” Lena casually waved, a blue ribbon trail behind her slowly fading, “am I interrupting somethin’?” She raised an eyebrow as she flicked her finger back and forth between the two. Her chronal accelerator whirred as it was fastened over her pilot’s jacket. She was also wearing her bright orange leggings.</p><p>”No,” Hana spoke before the bodybuilder could, “what’s up?”</p><p>”Oh okay,” Lena gave a curious glance to Zarya who only shrugged, “uhm,” she pointed her thumb over her shoulder, “drop ships here! We need everyone for a mission briefing.”</p><p>Hana blinked as she looked past Lena’s shoulder to see that the dropship was in fact stationed out on the grass.<em>When did that get there</em>?</p><p>Zarya’s heavy hand patted Hana’s shoulder as she made her way to the drop ship, “see you there, <em>zaika</em>.” Hana’s only response was playfully sticking her tongue out at the bodybuilder, who already had her back turned.</p><p>”Woah, what’d she do?” Lena asked as her head tilted to the side.</p><p>”She made fun of me.” Hana replied with a pout.</p><p>Lena giggled, “oh c’mon, I’m sure she didn’t mean it!”</p><p>Hana gave her best glare at Lena, “who’s side are you on?”</p><p>”Everyones!” Lena cheered as she placed her arm on Hana’s shoulders, “now c’mon we gotta go or else Jack will get grumpy.”</p><p>Hana rolled her eyes and huffed, yet she couldn’t help but smile shortly after as they made their way to the drop ship. It was finally time, finally time to do her part. An opportunity to help, to show her teammates that she was much more than they gave her credit for, that they were all much more than the world gave them credit for.</p><p>The inside of the drop ship was much the same, but the rest of their team stood around the center table with it’s hologram system instead showing a 3D map of a building’s floor plan. Jack was in his signature blue leather jacket as well as equipped with his visor. Angela wore her valkyrie suit and held her caduceus staff. Zenyatta, on the other hand, was in the same attire he wore every other day.</p><p>Jack’s head perked up, “oh good you’re here,” he then reached out to manipulate the hologram, “then let’s get started.”Hana and Lena stepped closer to the table to get a closer look at the schematics. It was a five story tall building that had multiple icons strewn across it. “Our mission will be to protect a fragment of an artifact. We have been alerted from HQ that the other fragments of said artifact have been procured or stolen within the past two months. We have a pretty strong inkling on what organization is behind this, and said artifact has the potential to cause world wide havok if repaired.”</p><p>Jack shifted his arm to zoom closer to one room on the fourth floor, “this is where the fragment will be stowed away. It will be locked behind two five hundred pound safe doors.” He then zoomed out to show the rest of the layout, “the rest of the doors in the building will be locked. Normally we would be assisted by the police force and security of the company that owns this building, but due to our notoriety neither will help us. Though the same company was kind enough to not get in our way as long as we do not associate ourselves with them.”</p><p>Hana could feel her nails dig into her palms as she glared at the hologram. She couldn’t understand how someone could care more about their image than potentially Talon. A reassuring hand was placed on her shoulder which pulled her out of her anger, she turned to see Lena who whispered, “no worries, we don’t need ‘em anyway.” Hana could still feel the anger bubbling in her, but it no longer threatened to boil. <em>She’s right, we don’t need idiots</em></p><p>”These icons are all security measures installed by the owners of the building. We are permitted to use any of these tools to aid us in protecting the fragment.” Jack continued as he began pointed at the multitude of icons, “these are cameras that we can access through the camera room, in which Zenyatta will be stationed at to monitor and will inform us through our comms systems,” he pointed towards the earpieces that were placed on the table, “of potential locations of our opposition.”</p><p>Jack continued to describe each of the different sets of icons, doors with reinforced metal shutters to block off routes, security alarms as a backup to their comms systems, and even a few remotely controlled doors that can be locked from any distance within the building. The team took the time to memorize the layout of the building, discussing potential strategies and uses of said security systems as well as where they should be positioned and where they should patrol.</p><p>As they all conversed Hana felt a finger tap her shoulder, she was caught off guard for a moment before she turned away from the hologram she had been staring at. She found Jack of all people behind her, “how are you feeling Hana,” his gruff voice was unnaturally worried, not a tone she would normally hear from him.</p><p>”I’m ready Jack. I’m hydrated and full of energy.” Hana replied, determined.</p><p>Jack stared at her for a moment before shaking his head, “that’s not what I meant.”</p><p>”Then what did you mean?” Hana asked, puzzled.</p><p>”The last time you faced Talon you were almost killed and suffered a heavy injury,” Jack said matter of factly.</p><p>Hana winced, “don’t remind me.”</p><p>”No,” Jack sighed, “I mean are you okay to face them again after that?”</p><p>The brunette’s face hardened at the question, she looked up at Jack defiantly, the old soldier could see the blazing fire behind her eyes, “I’m more than ready.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again everybody! Sorry for such the long wait and if you would like an explanation as to why you can read the chapter notes at the end of this chapter. Either way it's been a while and I've missed you all. I'm back and ready to bring more, so don't worry this story isn't going anywhere, I just had to get back into my groove is all! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, there's a little more to chew on this time as it's a more pivotal point I wanted to cover in this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The canopy of tropical tree leaves didn’t make the hot day any better. The heavy foliage that obscured the world past the tall electrical fences only seemed to add heavy humidity to the heat. The floor beneath Sombra’s aching bare feet was blisteringly hot asphalt which threatened to tear through the skin of her soles as she was forcefully escorted to the far end of the heavy artillery lot, past the heavy plated charcoal black infantry vehicles. Armored cars strapped with gatling guns, high power tanks that could only manage to shift their weight with treads. Talon spent it’s days in obscurity busy building an army, no one dared to stop them but the organization that was torn down by the public.</p>
<p>The sheer amount of weaponry present in a ten square mile radius put most modern militaries to shame. Sombra had collected much of Talon’s internal data throughout the time she’s worked with them, but this particular base and colossal militia had slipped by undetected. Talon had seemingly kept this secret away even from their own high protected records.</p>
<p>Though tricks and lies were expected of Talon and those who were affiliated, Sombra had believed she’d been above it. Not morally, moral high horses were a waste of time in the hacker’s eyes. No, she thought she had been on top of the lies and manipulation. She wasn’t afraid of their threatening snarls because all she saw them as were wolves, predictable and power hungry beasts with tunnel focused desires.</p>
<p>What she hadn’t realized was that she wasn’t quite as above them as she thought. The world is a jungle, much like the one just outside those electrical fences, sprawling with beasts trying to fight for their own way to survive and thrive. For some it was to remain clever and alert, to keep their head held high, but others chose to form packs and tribes to further their power and agenda. The wolves were hungry, and she had simply walked into their den. Though what she regretted most was that a particular rabbit had gotten herself tied into this mess.</p>
<p>Sombra was shoved forward by one of the multiple Talon grunts that were escorting her and the rest of the line of captives. With her wrists tied together and linked to the others with chains she didn’t have much in the way to keep herself balanced, so she slammed right into the girl in front of her.</p>
<p>Which so happened to be the very same misfortunate rabbit, “hey!” D.va snarled back at her as she had to practically keep both of them from falling. Sombra didn’t have much of a response, her usually sharp wit and snark were absent, gone with the energy to keep herself up right.</p>
<p>Though she never fell, nor did D.va, instead she was surprised to find herself supported as she leaned forward on the girl’s back. She couldn’t find it in her to stand up straight in that brief moment, the feeling of having someone to lean on felt like a strange comfort she hadn’t had in a very long time, though it was short lived as D.va spoke up again, though not as harshly, “listen, I can’t keep this up, you’re gonna have to pull your own weight,” her tone was a sharp whisper, but she didn’t shove Sombra off either.</p>
<p>Sombra couldn’t help but grin, something about this bunny pulled the wickedness from her, “awe, c’mon <em>chica</em>, can’t you give me five more minutes?” She teased with a low whisper only D.va could hear.</p>
<p>It was then she was finally shoved off, “I’m not your alarm clock,” D.va spat back, though as Sombra righted herself she caught a glimpse of the girl checking over her shoulder, her ears flushed a bit red.</p>
<p>Sombra couldn’t help but chuckle, only to feel the butt of a rifle slam into her side, forcing her to let out a pained grunt as she doubled over, slowing the line down. She felt a spark of fury well up her chest, but the spark died before it could catch flame, instead she sighed as she attempted to stand straight</p>
<p>As she looked up she watched as the grunt moved forward to reel back his rifle, “this’ll teach you both to shut your mouths.” Sombra watched as the rifle stock slammed into D.va’s ribs, the very same side that Sombra had previously seen break and crumble against golden metal, she flinched expecting bone to break. Fortunately D.va’s ribs remained intact, but the pained yelp she let out as she crumpled into a slouch resparked the fire in Sombra’s stomach.</p>
<p>”Hey! <em>Cabron</em>!” The hacker’s usual tempered and coy demeanor cracked as a fiery flare of anger growled from her mouth, “you get your hands off her or god help-” her explosive energy was quickly snuffed out as another rifle was slammed into her temple. The sheer force of the impact made Sombra’s head spin, her vision darkened slightly and she had to fight to stay conscious.</p>
<p>While in the muddled state of the world Sombra couldn’t quite decipher the shouts around her as she was practically dragged along, all she could focus on was placing one foot in front of the other. Normally she'd be more resilient but she and the other captives had been prohibited from food, water, and proper sleep. It was common tactics to keep their human cattle weak and docile, Sombra knew of such a process, but this was her first proper experience with it and unfortunately she found herself on the receiving end.</p>
<p>She couldn’t consider herself surprised, Talon operatives were constantly finding ways to get under her skin, but she supposed she danced near the flames for too long. She was being hunted and she didn’t realize until it was too late. Too late to get away, too late to get her rabbit out from the wolves’ den.</p>
<p>The hair from the back of her head was yanked up, forcing her to face up to her captors. Her and the rest of the line of captives had stopped by now, as they were lined up against a tall brick wall that shielded the jungle outside from the untimely demise of Talon’s enemies.</p>
<p>Sombra blinked as she tried to get her eyes to focus, to find the cold and unrelenting stone expression of Akande as he pulled her hair up to force direct eye contact. He let out an unimpressed snort, “just as expected, you were nothing more than a mere insect.” Akanded expectantly stared into Sombra’s violet eyes, waiting for the sly remark that never came. His lips curled into a wicked smirk, “it seems you now know your place.”</p>
<p>He let go of her hair, letting her head drop making the world spin even faster, “you’ve become useless to us,” she heard him as she stared down at the pavement, “so now we’re going to get rid of you like the rest of this trash.”</p>
<p>Sombra found the strength to raise her head, just enough to look past the faded dye of her purple bangs and up to the squadron of grunts all with rifles at the ready. She watched as Akande walked away from Sombra and behind the firing line, once safely behind the firing squad he crossed his arms and watched with what Sombra swore was a hint of a smile.</p>
<p>She looked to her flanks, were the rest of the captives were lined up with her. They all wore the same tattered beige rags that served as clothes, some were crumpled down to the floor unable to stand for any longer. Others stood tall, stone faced and ready for what they knew as to come, while others begged, screamed and cried. Sombra’s violet eyes found the one particular girl she was looking for, D.va stood defiantly, despite her short stature she looked tall with a passionate fire in her eyes, yet tears rolled down her cheeks.</p>
<p>Sombra wanted to do something, anything, if nothing but to somehow get D.va to stop crying, to bring her some form of comfort she knew wouldn’t help, but she couldn’t move like she wanted, she tried to force her body to listen but all she could do was stare.</p>
<p>This was her fault, she knew.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>ㅠ.ㅠ</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The night air was brisk and chilled, it had been otherwise perfect weather for what was planned, but to Sombra it wasn’t quite as perfect as it could’ve been. It hadn’t been perfect in a long while really, there were no clouds in sight in the night sky, as the usual often downpour she was used to in this country was somehow absent, absent when she needed it most. The usual comfort of rain droplets against the roof of a metallic drop ship was replaced by a chilling silence as she stood amongst the wolves.</p>
<p>Red lights filled the hangar with a familiar sense of dread. It was a bit cramped so Sombra found herself standing next to Widowmaker. The cold blooded assassin did make the hacker’s hair stand on end, but she was currently her safest bet as the only halfway bearable individual, Moira, had seated herself cross-legged next to Reaper, both taking up an entire seat. While the other seat… well the other was held hostage by the tower that was Akande. He sat in the center of the bench, purposely taking as much space as possible.</p>
<p>Sombra had taken the opportunity to place herself right where the blue assassin would block any form of eye contact between her and the uncomfortable stoic stares of Doomfist. Which made Widowmaker give her a strange glance as the hacker sidled up next to her. Though no words came from the spider’s blue lips as she returned to staring straight forward and otherwise completely still. It was definitely perplexing and creepy how still Widowmaker was, Sombra had to pay attention to notice the slow and almost invisible rise and fall of her shoulders.</p>
<p>Despite using the assassin as a barricade, Sombra still had the urge to cross her arms, to hide away and make herself as small as possible. Though, the second a back is turned to the wolves, they’ll pounce. So she stood as tall as she could, leaving her arms at her sides, and a feigned smirk on her lips, doubling down on the facade to the point of even obnoxiously chewing a piece of bubble gum, breaking the otherwise uncomfortable silence of the ship</p>
<p>”Hey <em>chica</em>,” Sombra leaned a little closer to Widowmaker, “is it always this awkward during your family road trips?” She pointed to the rest of the ship’s occupants, in a feigned whisper that was loud enough for everyone to hear.</p>
<p>The blue skinned spider looked over her shoulder to give the hacker quizzical look, an eyebrow raised as those bright yellow eyes almost pierced through Sombra, “are you uncomfortable, <em>cherie</em>?” The hacker could hear the smirk in the assassin’s words, but yellow eyes and blue lips remained expressionless.</p>
<p>Sombra blinked, a little caught off guard by the question, “no,” she recovered quickly, nonchalantly checking her nails, “just bored.”</p>
<p>”Mmm,” Widowmaker’s response was a wordless hum as she refocused her attention towards nothing, falling into her robotic and still stance. The speed of which the woman could become nothing but an emotionless weapon made Sombra’s stomach churn, so she decided to end the conversation there.</p>
<p>The ship fell back into deafening silence that persisted for the rest of the ride. Sombra was used to silence, it was crucial to be comfortable with the quiet in her line of business when slipping from shadow to shadow, but this was definitely different from the silence of being alone. There was no conversation, but she could feel the eyes on her back. She should’ve expected this kind of behavior really, Doomfist being the center of it all. Their apparent “patience” has worn thin, all because a particular musclehead couldn’t help but throw a psychotic tantrum.</p>
<p>But she was still of use to them, which was both unfortunate and fortunate, as she already wanted out of their “business partnership,” but ghosting them now would only give them more reason to use force as their primary form of incentive. Though they did need her, at the very least her technical know-how, and that was the last barrier between her and the wolves that surrounded her.</p>
<p>After what seemed like an eternity the ship slowed to a stop, only noticeable by the subtle shift in momentum and the whir of propellers becoming a bit quieter. Reaper and Doomfist stood and readied themselves, Widowmaker lifted her hand to activate her spider-eye visor while Moira remained seated but uncrossed her long legs. Sombra took in a deep breath through her nose as she focused on the hangar door. Waiting for it to open to activate her stealth and rush out, just as planned before their deployment.</p>
<p>While focused on the door Sombra failed to realize that Moira had stood from her seat and had quietly made her way to her side. So when a clawed hand grabbed her shoulder her head snapped to see Moira behind her. A wicked grin was on her, enjoying the panicked reaction, but it slowly faded into a stoic nod.</p>
<p>The gesture was subtle, her face seemed cold and calculating, but something in her two toned eyes let Sombra release the breath she didn’t know she was holding. She simply nodded back and then activated her stealth camouflage as she heard the hangar hum open, gusts of wind billowing in and finally filling the silence.</p>
<p>Now that she was virtually invisible she felt a rush of comfort and excitement, she dashed forward toward the open skies outside the ship, the wind rushing past her as she leapt out into the night. She’d be first to breach the building for recon and to set up the optimal ambush for the rest, but first she’d need to land.</p>
<p>Before her was a large industrial building surrounded by a large empty pavement parking lot that she sped towards. While in the air she twisted her body to face back up at the drop ship that seemed to retreat and shrink into black sky as the distance between them grew. She thrusted her arm upwards, the finalized build of her wrist band hook shot that blended seamlessly into the rest of her attire fired it’s claw at the ship, the rope hitched on the wing of the ship causing the claw to swing and wrap around the metal before clamping on.</p>
<p>The rope pulled taut, stopping her from meeting an unfortunate end on the pavement below. She felt the tug on her arm, but the new grapple hook had light metal stems that weaved through the right side of her cloak, dispersing the point of action from just her wrist to her entire arm and right half of her torso, which cushioned the yank of gravity stopping her momentum with no pain. Her new toy working as intended made a wide smirk pull at Sombras lips, but before she could relish in her handy work she began to swing,</p>
<p>Within seconds she had generated enough momentum to swing close enough to a nearby window, she squeezed her ring finger down onto the base of her palm, a gesture recognized by her neural system detaching the rope from her wrist, launching herself towards the window in the process. In the few split seconds she was airborne again she unsheathed a specialized climbing axe, swinging it over her head and onto the windowsill slicing partly into the old stone as dust and pebbles scattered out forcing Sombra to cover her eyes for a moment.</p>
<p>Once securely hanging on the window she took a second to look below her, finding that she was currently suspended five stories up. Despite the nervous sweat on her brow she couldn’t help but have a wide ear to ear smile, the way her heart pumped like a piston in her chest was a feeling she never realized she was chasing until the adrenaline was coursing through her veins again.</p>
<p>She yanked herself up, carefully climbing up enough to peek through the glass. She found an empty darkened room that was just perfect for an infiltration, she deactivated the stealth camo and pulled out another flat head screwdriver with her left hand before jamming it under the window, attempting to force it open. Though after the screwdriver was wedged in the window still wouldn’t budge, it had been locked from inside.</p>
<p><em>Just my luck</em>, she groaned as she left the screwdriver wedged, she reached over to her right arm and pressed a small button on her wrist band which opened the chamber where she’d normally load more hook shot rounds. She reached into the mechanisms and grabbed the end of rope which was loaded at the back end of the barrel. The small mechanisms inside would attach the said rope to the hook shot rounds as they were loaded but with some foresight she left the mechanisms easy to tinker with on the field.</p>
<p>She pulled out a decent amount of rope from the chamber, biting on the rope to free her left hand, touching her ring finger to the base of her palm which activated the mechanism inside the wrist band to cut the rope and detach it. She then tied the free rope to her midsection and tied the other end to the climbing axe, in the process letting her hang onto the windowsill with both hands free.</p>
<p>She then refocused her attention to the window, retrieving a strange tool from her pocket which looked like a pen. Though when she clicked it in a metal wire extended from the tip, she extended the wire and bent the end of it before slipping it through the small gap that the screw driver had forced itself into. She used the wire to hook onto the latch, unlocking the window then finally pulling it open.</p>
<p>Sombra let out a satisfied huff before climbing into the dark room, slinking into the shadows, leaving behind both the climbing axe and rope. Once inside she scanned the darkness for any movement, only to find herself in an empty supply room, metal shelves stocked with cleaning supplies and a corner of the room covered in brooms, dust pans, mops and buckets.</p>
<p>She then looked up, finding that there were no surveillance cameras before reaching up her hand to activate the comm piece in her ear, “hey,” she made sure to chew her now tasteless gum loudly, “I’m in <em>chicos</em>, fifth floor storage closet is a safe entry point.”</p>
<p>A static clicked in her ear as a gravelly voice responded, “good, now give us a visual.” Reaper sounded annoyed but that was nothing new.</p>
<p>”Not even a thank you, huh?” The usual snark escaped her lips, but now that she was alone, the smirk was gone.</p>
<p>”Get off the comms,” Reaper hissed back.</p>
<p>”Yeah yeah, whatever you say <em>viejo</em>” Sombra responded absent mindedly as she slowly pushed open the door, checking the hallway.</p>
<p>She heard Reaper grumble over the mic, “calling me old isn’t going to get us a visual, Sombra.”</p>
<p>The hacker’s eyes widened before she let out a snicker, “<em>Nunca me has dicho que entendiste español.</em></p>
<p>A heavy sigh made Sombra’s smirk widen, ”the visual Sombra, that’s all I asked of you.”</p>
<p>”Okay okay, chill out.” She whispered back, now that she was sure that she was alone in this section of the building she stepped out from the storage room, she then flicked her wrist bringing up her holograms, after a few quick keystrokes she waved away her holograms. The internal server began to synchronize data as a visor made of holograms projected over her eyes, both serving as specialized lenses capable of thermal vision and locating electronic devices but also simultaneously sending a video feed to Reaper and the rest of the team.</p>
<p>Sombra’s eyebrow rose as there was no response from her “team” but she shrugged it off as she skulked through the halls, making note of surveillance camera locations through walls as well as looking out from heat signatures. She had been informed that there would be Overwatch interception for the last piece of her little puzzle, and she knew what that meant. Despite the lack of heat signatures in the immediate area, she’d see a particular rabbit today and it twisted her stomach in strange ways to know that.</p>
<p>The world was drenched in shades of blue through the visor, not a trace of people in sight, but she expected this, she deliberately chose a point of entry furthest from the target. Yet she found herself with a tinge of disappointment in her chest, somehow she expected some level of cleverness out of their enemy, if not from one choice individual, maybe she overestimated. Then again, the girl had fooled her once before so she kept herself on her toes, expecting to see a heat signature any second now.</p>
<p>Her hand found its way into her coat’s pocket without her input, her fingers instinctively finding the small sticker she couldn’t help but take before she left home. She was never one for momentos, or reminders, her hide-outs were always devoid of any photographs and everything and any furniture was strictly functional. But night after night, finding the drive to take the sticker from the counter and toss it diminished, so much so that before she left home she couldn’t help but take it with her.</p>
<p>A spot of orange surfaced from the sea of blue, a heat signature, one much bigger than Sombra would’ve expected. Through the wall she could make out a strange entity that was three times her height with multiple appendages. Thankfully Sombra wasn’t going insane as not a second later the comm piece in her ear crackled to life.</p>
<p>”Sombra, what is that?” Moira’s voice came through this time, her tone surprised but more curious than worried.</p>
<p>Moira’s collected demeanor was overpowered by Reaper’s voice coming through the same earpiece, “find out what it is ASAP.”</p>
<p>The hacker rolled her eyes as she slowly approached the heat signature, her violet eyes squinting as her brain struggled to picture what could have such a unique silhouette. It almost looked like a giant octopus, but somehow completely stationary with only six limbs instead of eight. It had kept Sombra transfixed for so long that she failed to notice the girl who slipped out from an adjacent room</p>
<p>Before she could realize she had company a fist collided with the side of her temple. In the time it took her to get her bearings she was then tackled onto the floor, grunting as landed face first into the stainless tiled floors, her assailant straddling her back while holding her arms behind her.</p>
<p>”Sombra,” Reaper hissed, clearly annoyed that she had lost her upper hand, “what is going on!? Do not mess this up now!”</p>
<p>”<em>Cállate pendejo</em>,” Sombra hissed quietly.</p>
<p>A familiar smug tone blessed the hacker’s free ear, “talking to yourself?”</p>
<p>Despite having the wind knocked out of her, the hacker couldn’t help but smirk, but before she could speak the comm piece in her ear crackled to life once more, “Sombra, get yourself out your mess, we don’t have the time-” The ear piece was silenced as Sombra touched the tip of her index finger to the tip of her pinky finger, another gesture that she had programmed into her neural system, quietly thanking her past self.</p>
<p>”Hey, <em>chica</em>, long time no see,” the hacker replied nonchalantly, despite her voice being a little strained as her chest was pushed against the floor</p>
<p>Her arms were then yanked uncomfortably further up her back causing her to grunt, “don’t chica me,” the hacker could hear the growl behind D.va’s words, “do you know what you’re helping them steal?”</p>
<p>”Don’t know, and don’t care,” Sombra’s reply was clearly apathetic, she wasn’t interested in this topic, she’d been interested in something else even if she didn’t know it herself, “really <em>chica</em>, you should know my M.O. by now.”</p>
<p>”To make a mess and leave it to everyone else to clean your shit up?” D.va applied more of her weight onto Sombra’s back, her lips getting dangerously close to the hacker’s ear. Sombra could hear the fire behind her words, and she could almost see the bursting flames behind those soft brown eyes.</p>
<p>Though it wasn’t enough, she had the urge to see the burning pyre for herself, so she swung her head back and slammed her skull into D.va’s face. She heard a yelp of pain as D.va’s grip loosened on her wrists giving her enough leeway to shove D.va off her.</p>
<p>As Sombra pushed off the ground to stand she raised her hand to her temple, deactivating the visor before turning to face her assailant. D.va covered her injured nose with her hand as she used the wall to stand, her soft brown eyes dripping with molten anger.</p>
<p>”It’s not really my problem,” Sombra shrugged as she stepped closer to, the grin on her face growing wider and wider, “this will be the last time you see me <em>chica</em>.”</p>
<p>D.va pushed off the wall, a wild fist swung towards Sombra who simply side stepped, keeping her hands behind her back as the younger girl stumbled forward only to catch herself on the adjacent wall, “I can’t believe you of all people could be so stupid!”</p>
<p>Sombra’s smirk faltered, the way D.va’s voice cracked in not only anger but tinged with a hint of disappointment, “I’m stupid? <em>Yo soy la pendeja?</em>” she lunged forward, the comment stung her heart with leaked poison through the wound, “you’re the idiot who decided to get into a fist fight with me,” she grabbed D.va by the back of the head, pinning her against the wall, “how many times do I have to tell you that I could kill you.</p>
<p>As D.va took her time to respond the two remained still for what seemed like an eternity, their labored breathing the only sound in the hall before the younger girl muttered something under her breath. Sombra blinked, inching her ear closer while also pressing the MEKA pilot’s head into the wall, refusing to get headbutted herself, “you’re gonna have to speak up if you’re planning to cuss me out-.”</p>
<p>”You wouldn’t.” D.va’s voice was barely audible.</p>
<p>Sombra’s curiosity drove her further as she placed the majority of her weight against the girl, “wouldn’t what, <em>chica?</em>”</p>
<p>D.va took a shaky breath, “you wouldn’t kill me, so you couldn’t.”</p>
<p>The hacker’s eyes widened, a wide smirk pulling at her lips. The sheer audacity of this girl made Sombra’s heartbeat quicken, “you wanna find out?”</p>
<p>”Nope,” Sombra noticed a pained smirk pull at the corner of D.va’s lips, “Yeol!”</p>
<p>Another split second passed, the following silence made Sombra’s eyebrow’s quirk as she began to chuckle in confused amusement, but before she could begin laughing the wall at the end of the hall was blasted through. Pieces of plaster and brick filling the air as metallic stomping echoed through the building.</p>
<p>”<em>Que chingados!</em>” Sombra cursed as she ducked out of the way of the robotic goliath that stormed it’s way towards her. It let out a burst of concentrated heat to slide across the floor, skidding to a stop next to D.va. The circular cockpit swung open before the pilot clambered inside.</p>
<p>The strange contraption named Yeol was the strange heat signature from before, it had all been a clever ploy to get not only one, but two surprised attacks on the hacker. Adrenaline coursed through Sombra’s veins, a sense of excitement that she hadn’t felt in a long time began to jump start her system. She flicked open her holograms, typing two quick codes before activating her stealth camo.</p>
<p>The communication device in her ear crackled to life once more as she turned to sprint down the hallway, “enemy contact, breach now.” She yelled as she rounded a corner, the heavy metallic stomping just behind her.</p>
<p>Reaper’s irritated voice responded, “this isn’t part of the plan-”</p>
<p>”Fuck the plan Gabe, we gotta move <em>now</em>” She demanded as the mechanical Behemoth surprised her as it sped around the corner with it’s dash, leaving a trail of steam behind, “shit-” she cut off the comm line and pushed her legs to run faster. Despite the stealth, D.va was still somehow on her tail, not that it really surprised the hacker.</p>
<p>The way her lungs and legs burned, the sound of a metal monster with an interesting pilot right on her heels made her heart hammer against her ribs as she loaded another grapple shot into her wristband. Her senses felt keen, taking in as much information as physically possible as any small detail in the fraction of a second could mean the end of the road.</p>
<p>She rounded another corner, kicking off the opposing wall to keep her forward momentum from slowing her down, while the tiles just behind her feet crumbled under the weight of D.va’s monumental new mech. When every second matters there’s no time to think about what comes after, only what comes next. Sombra could never describe, never explain the feeling that always kept her coming back despite the hungry glares of psychotic wolves, and the disdain in the eyes of those who don’t get it.</p>
<p><em>No one ever does get it</em>, she thought as a tile snapped under the flat of her foot, forcing her to swing her right arm forward, firing a grapple shot that pierced through the wall ahead of her, yanking at the rope to pull herself onto solid ground. She clambered to her feet, almost tripping under the sudden momentum but catching herself just in time to continue running forward. <em>No one has, not until now</em>, she glanced over her shoulder to see Yeol and it’s rider.</p>
<p>Through the cockpit window she could see D.va manipulating the joysticks with an energetic fervor that almost rivaled the fire behind her soft brown eyes and the sweat gathering on her brow. Sombra couldn’t help but laugh, and quickly realized her mistake as she did her best to stifle it as fiery eyes zeroed in on her.</p>
<p>A mechanical claw reached forward, clamping down on Sombra’s arm which made her yelp in pain before being pulled back. The stealth camo programming hitched as the Yeol’s hand reached within the small radius, causing the program to fail and reveal Sombra as she was lifted off of her feet with another claw grabbing her other arm.</p>
<p>Sombra’s violet eyes could now see the trail of destruction left behind as just the tiles right under Yeol’s feet were shattered, revealing the stained stone flooring underneath, some of the cement of the ground appeared to be chipped and dented under the weight of D.va’s new mech. Despite the pain of the metal grip on her arms she felt the earlier laughter bubble up to her mouth.</p>
<p>She heard as the heat chamber of Yeol’s cockpit decompressed as the windshield swung open. Her violet eyes catched soft brown ones which looked both angry and dumbfounded, “why the fuck are you laughing!? Are you crazy!?” D.va yelled, clearly frustrated with Sombra’s unpredictability.</p>
<p>As the dust settled the hallways were otherwise quiet, but Sombra’s ears perked to a familiar sound she heard nearby, on the floor above was a hum of collecting energy. “Maybe! Thanks for the fun, <em>chica</em>, but this is where we go our own ways!”</p>
<p>The pilot’s head tilted in confusion before the ceiling suddenly came crashing down. D.va reacted almost instantly, shifting her joysticks and dashing backwards, in the process letting go of the hacker and giving Sombra the opportunity to leap backward herself just as the concrete above them crumbled to dust under a golden fist. Doomfist landed between the two, and despite being Sombra’s rescue she felt the grin on her face die and a chill crawl up her back. Feelings that she hid well, unlike D.va.</p>
<p>The pilot’s eyes widened as she recognized who stood between her and Sombra. She lifted her arm to activate her own line of communication that was hidden in her ear, “I need back up-!” She was cut off as the cockpit of Yeol swung and sealed closed. Her hand then quickly returned to the joysticks as the the clawed pair of arms reached back and pulled a giant hammer from its holster</p>
<p>Doomfist’s deep chuckles reverberated through the walls, the sound made Sombra’s heart drop but she ignored the feeling as she turned to dedicate her attention to what she was paid for, she’s had her fun even if she would’ve prefered to keep the chase on for the whole night. As she said it’d be the last they meet, she wasn’t planning to stick around for much longer.</p>
<p>As she rounded another corner another familiar sound caught her attention. Having heard this sound before she whipped around, unholstering her machine pistol and spraying full automatic fire behind her. The flashing fire light of her barrel illuminated a shadowy thin but quick silhouette with a blue light ribbon trail trailing behind, keeping just ahead of the bullet spray.</p>
<p>The woman seemed to disappear, leaving behind a blue ribbon that seemed to phase through Sombra’s mid section. The hacker flipped around again finding that Tracer had blipped just behind her, Sombra lifted her arm to catch Tracer’s swing, stopping her the butt of a pulse pistol just shy of her cheek.</p>
<p>”Long time no see, eh?” Tracer quipped in her annoying british accent, her voice was chipper, but the way her chestnut brown eyes furrowed and darkened let Sombra know how much disdain was behind her words, “we gotta stop meetin’ up like this.”</p>
<p>”I couldn’t agree more,” Sombra responded with a smirk, but really she had to fight the urge to spit on the brit. She shifted her legs to shove Tracer’s arms out of the way, thrusting her machine pistol towards the brit’s gut before unloading the rest of her clip.</p>
<p>As her finger twitched against the trigger squeaked in surprise before being enveloped in a blue energy, disappearing entirely and leaving no trail as she activated her recall ability. Sombra closed her eyes, counting each of the three valuable seconds given to her as she turn around again. Three seconds wasn’t enough time to turn around, reload her magazine and aim her machine pistol, so instead she took the half second she needed to load a claw shot into her wristband before aiming it at an empty wall.</p>
<p>As the last second ticked down she fired the claw shot just as Tracer reappeared from her recall. The claw shot pierced through the brit’s shoulder, ripping through her jacket and flesh and pinning her against the wall, causing her to let out a growl of pain and drop her pulse pistols onto the ground. The normally spunky brunette raised a pained arm to try and rip the claw shot out from her shoulder.</p>
<p>Sombra simply smirked as she stepped closer, grabbing a hold of Tracer’s neck and pushing it up against the wall she was pinned to. “Caught you~,” the hacker whispered as the brit reached up to claw at the grip around her neck, “annoying little <em>piruja</em>, aren’t you?” Her lips dripped with sardonic poison.</p>
<p>Violet eyes watched as Tracer’s panicked eyes darted around the room, every second passing was another second of lost oxygen in the brit’s system. She kicked her legs and thrusted her arms forward, frantically trying to push Sombra away to get some air. It felt much too satisfying to watch the life slowly drain from Tracer’s eyes, there was a dark bubbling toxic feeling in her chest, one she’d never really felt before, a kind of hatred she’d never really known before.</p>
<p>A sudden gentle yellow glow appeared just above Tracer’s head which distracted Sombra’s violet eyes. Her eyebrow raised as she tried to discern what hovered just above only to have what felt like a fist sized rock slam into her temple. Not an entirely new sensation for the night, but it made Sombra stumble, losing her grip on the brit who began coughing and gasping for air.</p>
<p>The hacker turned to find that a floating omnic had snuck up behind her. Not footsteps meant no noise, which made Sombra smirk, “clever bastard,” she admitted as she spat blood onto the floor.</p>
<p>”I suggest you abscond Sombra, as you are quickly becoming outnumbered.” The omnic’s voice hummed calmly. The hacker turned over to watch Tracer finally find the strength to rip the claw shot out of her shoulder as a small floating yellow orb above her head seeped a strange glowing energy into the wound, healing the injury as the fleshed began to seal up.</p>
<p>”Tsch,” Sombra scanned the room, her exits were blocked as Tracer quickly picked up her pulse pistols and stepped closer while Zenyatta brought his hand close to his chest, multiple orbs generating around his head as he prepared a barrage.</p>
<p>The hacker took one step back as her eyes darted around, her machine pistol’s magazine was empty and so was her claw shot and her stealth camouflage was still in the process of debugging after being overloaded. She was trapped and her attackers knew it, but just as they were about to rain hellfire upon her a shotgun blast forced Tracer to blink backwards.</p>
<p>Reaper stepped into the room, dropping the shotgun he had just fired from his right hand to grab Zenyatta’s face, the readied orbs of destruction fired haphazardly, two slammed into Reapers shoulders as he let out angered howls of pain, the rest fired straight into the ceiling. The omnic was slammed into the ground as Reaper landed over him, firing a shell of his left shotgun into Zenyatta’s chest.</p>
<p>”Zen!” Tracer screamed as she directed her pulse pistols towards Reaper, who instinctively melted into an amorphous cloud of smoke, reverting to his wraith form before moving towards the brit. Sombra took a split second to watch as blue pulse shots fired through Reaper before he rematerialized after Tracer’s pistol clips emptied. She shifted her weight before sprinting through an exit and making her way deeper into the buildings core</p>
<p>After rounding another corner of the labyrinthian complex, Sombra finally caught her goal within her sights. A simple door, but with the schematics of the building seared into her memory she knew that behind the mirage of simplicity stood two large nearly impenetrable safe doors. The key word was nearly.</p>
<p>The elation in her chest was short lived as the building’s alarms went off, an annoyingly loud siren filled the halls as multiple emergency lights began to flash vibrant red. A shutter door began to close between her and her destination, a security measure she had seen many times before, but she didn’t have the time to breach it like she usually did. Instead she commanded her burning legs to push harder and just as the shutter door slammed shut she dropped to the floor, letting her momentum carry her into a slide, just barely making it to the other side.</p>
<p>She pushed off the ground and began sprinting toward the door, she reached out to open only to be stopped by blue helix rockets blasting the door knob into smithereens. “Damnit!” Sombra flinched back as the heat of the blast scorched some of her palm, she turned to find Soldier 76 out from the shadows as a steady blue stream of energy flowed into the back of his torso.</p>
<p>”This isn’t your fight.” Soldier’s voice was gruff and stern, yet sounded tired and exhausted, “I’m giving you an out.” Despite his words he still readied his pulse rifle, much like any good soldier would, yes his finger remained off the trigger. The energy stream attached to his chest slowly shifted and billowed behind him, the dim blue light it generated revealed Mercy who stood just behind Soldier, her caduceus staff set to amplify the pulse rifle as her blue eyes pointed a cold glare at the hacker.</p>
<p>Sombra lips formed an exaggerated pout, “awe, <em>el héroe</em> came to spare me!” She scoffed as she crossed her arms, discreetly loading another claw shot into her arm band, “don’t act all high and mighty, <em>viejo</em>, you’re just a crazy old man with a gun.”</p>
<p>Soldier shrugged, “fine by me,” he huffed as his stance snapped ready, his finger sliding over the trigger. Sombra reacted instantly, taking the fraction of a second allotted to her to run towards the wall of the room, reaching her hand up to fire her claw shot into the air as amplified pulse shots riddled the wall just behind her. A few grazed her filling the excess in her clothes with holes, she gritted her teeth as the shots slipped past her skin, searing her legs and shoulders.</p>
<p>The claw shot clamped into the ceiling, yanking Sombra up, she used her momentum to swing along the wall, kicking off it to gain just tad more speed. One shot found its mark on her pelvis, the heat of the plasma sinking into her skin and almost into her bone. The pain only made her push harder, yelling as she used the claw shot to swing towards Soldier, the souls of her feet planting on his torso and knocking him to the floor, forcing him to lose grip on his pulse rifle which fell to the floor and spiraled away.</p>
<p>Just as Sombra got her footing she was forced to drop and roll out of the way of in coming fire. Mercy had unholstered her caduceus blaster. The hacker smirked, the pistol shots were still very dangerous but much easier to dodge, the blaster had traded power and speed for a lightweight frame and no recoil, features Sombra just adored to abuse. She kicked off the floor and sprinted toward the blonde, keeping her body low and letting a few shots wizz above her head before rolling to the side just as Mercy adjusted her aim.</p>
<p>She reached into her pocket, attempting to grab one of her translocators, only to pull out one such device that had a hole melted through. The translocator had taken the brunt of Soldier’s one shot, which made Sombra realize that if it hadn’t then the amplified plasma would have gone straight through her. Though it was just her luck to grab the busted one where every second mattered.</p>
<p>Yet the hacker found herself unharmed with one knee on the ground and a gun barrel against her head. Her violet eyes looked up to find Mercy who’s glare was icy cold, but her lips twitched uncomfortably in an unsure frown, “why did you bring her back?”</p>
<p>Sombra blinked, her shoulders heaved up and down as she breathed heavily, “what?”</p>
<p>”Han- D.va… Why did you bring D.va back.” Mercy’s icy blue eyes began to melt if only just by a fraction.</p>
<p>The hacker’s eyes narrowed, “wha-”</p>
<p>The pistol was harshly pushed into her forehead, “answer me!” Mercy yelled, her cloak of contempt melting just before Sombra’s eyes.</p>
<p>”I-...” Sombra swallowed, “I don’t know.”</p>
<p>”<em>Quatsch</em>! Don’t play dumb!” Mercy yelled again, her eyes almost begging for an answer.</p>
<p>”Wh- I… <em>pero</em>...” Her eyes sunk to the floor beneath her, “she’s… D.va’s special, she shouldn’t die yet.”</p>
<p>What followed was what seemed like an eternity of silence as Sombra stared at the floor with a gun barrel pressed to her skull. Though just as something began slipping out of Mercy’s mouth they were caught off by another gruffer yell.</p>
<p>”Watch out!” Soldier barked as he jumped towards Mercy, pushing her onto the floor just as a bullet fired from out of Sombra’s sight, she heard the high caliber round zip past her head and sink into Soldier’s shoulder as both he and Mercy dropped for cover.</p>
<p>Sombra whipped her head around to find Widowmaker who was expressionless, except for a coy wink that happened so quickly it made the hacker wonder if it had really happened. “C’mon <em>cherie</em>, you have a job to do.” Her French accent was silky as it filled Sombra’s ears, never in her life had she been elated to see the spider.</p>
<p>She nodded to the assassin before kicking off the floor, a hand reached out to grab her ankle only to recoil as a sniper round ricocheted between Soldier’s grip and Sombra. The old man grumbled as he rolled over to his pulse rifle, grabbing it midroll before stopping in a crouch that allowed him to fire a few rounds towards Widowmaker. The assassin used her grapple to avoid the gun fire, though her actions were much more refined as she wasn’t so much as grazed.</p>
<p>Sombra ran to the door, she didn’t even bother to try and fiddle with the broken door knob and instead slammed her shoulder into the door. The whole door splintered as she crashed through, she slammed into the floor as her leg was caught on the lower half of the broken door. She grunted as she twisted to pull her leg free.</p>
<p>Through the doorway she watched as pulse shots fired into the shadows, the muzzle flash illuminated Widowmaker like an old animated movie, her movements graceful almost like a slithering snake preparing for a strike. A yellow beam found its way to Soldier’s back, which began to seal the bullet wound on his shoulder before the healing ray was switched to blue, amplifying the pulse rifle.</p>
<p>The hacker finally yanked her leg free from the splintered wood, she got off the floor and started sprinting toward her goal, dusting herself off as she ran. She reached into her pocket, found the damaged translocator and tossed it aside, letting the metallic pieces clatter and scatter across the floor. She quickly loaded another hook shot to her wrist band and reloaded her machine pistol.</p>
<p>She finally let out a relieved huff, finally feeling prepared for whatever encounter she might find, though it seemed like she was finally here. The safe doors that towered before her shone dimly as the synthetic light from the fluorescent ceiling lamps hummed above. Sombra took a moment to catch her breath and check over her shoulder to find herself alone. Once satisfied with the state of the calmer environment she turned back to the safe doors and smirked.</p>
<p>”Now for some fun,” she hummed to herself as she reached into her pocket to pull out a strange cylindrical contraption the size of her forearm. A steel tube that flared out one end almost like a funnel but with four drill-like appendages that pointed forward with a barrel centered between them. On it’s hull was a panel with multiple flips and buttons, which she used to activate the drills before pushing the cylinder into the safe door.</p>
<p>Sombra grimaced as the screech of metal drilling through metal filled the air, but she only stopped once the cylinder was affixed to the door. Once satisfied she clicked a button on the panel which responded with a beep as an internal counter began to count down. She ran away from the door, jumping over and clearing a table, once on the other side she shoved it over to create some cover.</p>
<p>Once the timer ran out the specialized C4 charge within the barrel of the cylinder went off. Sombra had her ears covered this time as the explosion cracked and reverberated across the room. Once clear she hopped back over the counter and checked the cylinder. Other than some soot that had smeared on the safe door out from the funnel everything seemed secure, that was until Sombra pressed another button on the panel of the cylinder having it detach from the drills and clatter to the floor.</p>
<p>In the center of the blast pattern of soot was a hole about 6 inches in diameter. Sombra smirked, “<em>perfecto</em>,” she muttered to herself, marveling in her own ingenuity before reaching into her pocket again. She retrieved a translocator and chucked it into the hole, hearing as it landed on the other side of the door before activating it. In the blink of an eye she was behind the safe doors and in another dimly lit room. The walls were covered in metallic cabinets and multiple crates lined the cabinets.</p>
<p>But Sombra’s smirk fell into a frustrated frown as her violet eyes found a woman. Not just any woman, but a bodybuilder power house with a shock of pink hair on her head. Zarya raised an eyebrow as she leaned against a crate in the center of the room with her arms crossed and particle cannon at her feet.</p>
<p>Sombra groaned, “really?”</p>
<p>Zarya’s eyebrow rose, she let out a small chuckle before reaching down to lift her particle cannon, “you signed up for this job, no?” As she spoke the energy from her cannon hummed to life, traveling through the pads in her fingers and into her specialized armor, “part of the work, I say.”</p>
<p>The hacker’s eyebrow rose to Zarya’s relaxed demeanor, though she couldn’t help but play along, “so,” she slowly turned and walked to the other corner of the room keeping a safe distance from Zarya, “I’m guessing you’re not gonna let me do my job peacefully?”</p>
<p>The russian bodybuilder calmly shook her head, “I’ve got my own job to do and people to protect.” She shifted her weight as she aimed her cannon.</p>
<p>Sombra shrugged, “people can protect themselves.” She flashed Zarya a curt smirk and wave before activating her stealth. The system of holograms covered her body within a split second, camouflaging her so well that despite being in such a small room Zarya had already become alert, having to rely on other senses rather than sight.</p>
<p>The hacker made sure to move slowly, and carefully to not make a sound. Creeping along closer to Zarya and trying to get a better angle to either strike or check the crate she was protecting. Though what Sombra hadn’t noticed was the dirt Zarya had brought into this room, just enough that when some granules shifted on the floor she shifted her weight to swing her particle cannon.</p>
<p>Sombra ducked just in time as the incredibly heavy weapon swung over her head, though she was knocked over by Zarya’s side as her body followed through with the weighty swing. As the hacker landed on her ass her stealth camouflage deactivated.</p>
<p>”<em>Otraves!?</em>” Sombra cursed as before having to roll away from Zarya’s cannon crashing down. The butt of the cannon chipped the stone floor, Sombra got up just in time as Zarya lifted her weapon from off the floor and aimed it at the hacker.</p>
<p>The russian smirked, “slippery worm” she fired a fluorescent purple explosive ball towards Sombra’s feet.</p>
<p>”Shit!” Sombra instinctively jumped, her feet just shy of the blast radius as she landed on a crate. Zarya aimed and prepared for another shot so Sombra reacted before either of them could think. The hacker jumped towards the bodybuilder, landing on her shoulders and having to sing her nails into the russian’s arms to not fall off.</p>
<p>Zarya swung one of her arms in an attempt to buck Sombra off, “off now!” The swing missed and in the process gave Sombra enough momentum to swing her legs around and find herself on Zarya’s back. She wrapped her arms around the bodybuilder’s neck, attempting to cut off her air flow as she was being swung around.</p>
<p>The bodybuilder dropped the particle cannon and moved backwards. Unable to pry Sombra off she instead slammed her back against one of the walls of cabinets. This caused the hacker’s head to slam against the metal, which loosened her grip around Zarya’s neck. Zarya used the opportunity to grab one of Sombra’s arms and yanked her over her shoulder and slammed Sombra’s back onto the ground.</p>
<p>The hacker’s breath was knocked out of her lungs as she heaved, the moment of breathlessness leaving her stunned as Zarya stood over her, “it is shame, you could have been a great ally.” The bodybuilder’s thick russian accent was barely audible over the ringing in Sombra’s ears from a mild concussion.</p>
<p>Though quickly her ears were filled with a deafening explosion. Dust and soot filled the room as the safe doors came clamoring down. Sombra coughed and hacked as she tried to pull herself up while Zarya retrieved her particle cannon and retreated to cover behind a few crates.</p>
<p>Sombra managed to sit up against the wall of cabinets and watch as Moira calmly walked into the room, stepping over the safe doors that had seemed to crumble under immense force. The destruction left Sombra perplexed, it was obvious that they had used more explosive charges to destroy the metal that lay on the hinges, but it shouldn’t have crumpled the steel like soda cans.</p>
<p>Though as the dust settled the hacker was given her answer as Moira tugged at a leash that tied securely around the neck of a very tall thin man whose feet floated just a few inches above the crumbled safe doors. He was strapped into some hefty and strange cerulean armor plates with a steel mask covering his mouth and jaw. The man seemed to twitch and shudder uncomfortably as he spoke unintelligible jargon through his mask.</p>
<p>”Mm,” Moira noticed Sombra, who was still struggling to catch her breath, “I figured you might have needed some assistance.” Moira turned to the deranged floating man and gave the leash a gentle tug, “Sigma, keep her busy, would you?” With that she dropped the leash as the man’s mutterings became more fevered. He lifted his long arms and with it the crate that Zarya had crouched behind. The russian was then pelted with said crate, which splintered and shattered against a self projected violet bubble that protected the bodybuilder as she stood and prepared herself for a fight.</p>
<p>Moira made her way to Sombra, paying no mind to the two power houses that were destroying the room behind her in attempts to get the upper hand. She instead crouched in front of Sombra as she fixed her sleeve, “it’s a pity to see you in such a state.” She pointed her left wrist towards the hacker’s torso as a yellow mist seeped out. The mist seemed to gently settle onto Sombra’s body, the sensation was refreshing as the substance soaked into her clothes and skin making her head feel clearer and her body ache less.</p>
<p>After Moira was satisfied with her work she flashed Sombra a bored smirk as she pulled the hacker up to her feet, “now we require your assistance, retrieve the last piece of the incubator.”</p>
<p>Sombra swallowed as she watched the expressionless heterochromatic eyes of Moira, despite the seemingly cold stare she felt a rush of confidence. She nodded, “alright,” she muttered to Moira before turning to scan the disarray of chaos the other two had left behind</p>
<p>The hacker watched as Sigma jutted his arm out towards the floor of the room, using his telekinetic powers to rip a chunk of the floor out and up into the air before flinging it at Zarya, who ducked under it at the last possible moment possible before firing a violet projectile that was only sucked and nullified into a miniature black whole that the tall madman summon at his finger tips.</p>
<p>”<em>Pinches locos</em>,” Sombra muttered as she forced herself to move closer, she reached her arm up, letting the band on her wrist fire towards the center crate that Zarya had protected, the hook shot fired and sunk into the wood yanking Sombra towards the apparently heavy crate. She took the opportunity to jump, letting the momentum lift her off the ground and carry towards her destination. She extended a leg as she crashed into the wood, splintering one side of the crate and letting her redirect her momentum to land on top of it.</p>
<p>From her perch she reached down and into the crate, fishing through soft packaging only to find that the box had been weighted down by multiple metal blocks at the bottom. Though it wasn’t until something poked her finger that she smirk, she grabbed the object and pulled out the final piece of Talon’s overpriced puzzle.</p>
<p>She fist pumped to herself before turning to check on the chaos on the room, only to watch one of Zarya’s projectiles headed straight towards her, “fuck-” Sombra held her arm up as she tried to brace for impact, only to hear stone and metal bend infront of her. She opened her eyes after a few more split seconds of no painful blast to find that a wall of rubble had shielded her. The pieces of concrete floor and metal crashed onto the ground as Sigma pulled concrete from above Zarya, literally bringing the roof down on her.</p>
<p>Sombra took the opportunity to jump off the crate as sprint past the crumpled safe doors. She pulled out one last and vital gadget from her pocket. A 3D printed synthetic plate that had a specialized slot, a small portion of said slot she filled with the fragment of the incubator. As the fragment was properly inserted small metallic appendages reached out from almost unseeable slits under the fragment which began repairing the incubator in record time.</p>
<p>One last gift to Talon, and her ticket to getting as far away from her sooner. She wouldn’t have to fix the damn thing herself if they simply pieced it together themselves. She pocketed the disk before her escape route was cut off by a blue wisp of a woman. Tracer blinked through the broken doorway Sombra had left behind, the brit turned wide eyed to the hacker only to have to refocus her attention back to Widowmaker who swung through the doorway via hook shot, rolling into their hallway and attempting to pelt Tracer with her Widow’s Kiss automatic fire mode.</p>
<p>Sombra readied her machine pistol with her right hand and grabbed a translocator with her left. She aimed and fired in front of Tracer’s path and cut off her escape route. Though the brit instead disappeared, using her chronal accelerator’s recall function to avoid running straight into gun fire.</p>
<p>”Move!” Widowmaker hissed at Sombra as she grappled away. The hacker heard helix rockets fire from the broken doorway towards her, heading the spider’s warning she jumped out of the way just in time, the rockets leaving a considerably sized hole in the floor.</p>
<p>Sombra crouched near a wall as she watch Soldier step through the door, a yellow beam attached to his torso as Mercy followed behind. Tracer recalled back into their room with a few less injuries on her person. Sombra and Widowmaker readied their weapons as Soldier and Tracer readied theirs.</p>
<p>But before anyone could fire a dark red smoke began to rise in the center of the room. The vicious smog forming into Reaper who appeared with his back toward the enemy. Before Reaper became corporeal Widowmaker took the moment of distraction as an opportunity to fire a scoped rifle shot at Tracer, who blinked at the last possible second towards the sniper, phasing through the bullet entirely before attempting to spray the spider down with her pulse pistols.</p>
<p>Soldier then sprinted towards Reaper as he began to fully materialize, but Sombra whipped her machine pistol and began firing in his path to stop him. She had bought Gabriel just enough time to solidify and flip around, he then took measure steps towards Soldier while firing his shotguns. The pellets sunk into the old veteran’s skin, but he was just out of Reapers deadliest range, letting the caduceus staff heal the injuries just as quickly as they appeared. Though Soldier had to step back as his life depended on staying out of said range.</p>
<p>The hacker scanned her surroundings, realizing that there was no out. This was a full on team fight and they would have to go through rather than around. So she reloaded her machine pistol and aimed towards Mercy, who stood just behind Soldier. Just as she began to pull the trigger molten metal had knocked the gun out of her hand and seared her palm, “fuck!” Sombra cursed as she watched her machine pistol melt on the floor.</p>
<p>She turned to the sound of the wall around the broken door crashing down. A metallic behemoth kicking away rubble and dashing towards Sombra and breaking her sight line towards Mercy. D.va’s fiery eyes burned brightly through the cockpit as she glared at Sombra, her knuckles white as she gripped her joysticks. The first two limbs on Yeol held shotguns that were reminiscent of Torbjorn’s rivet gun. <em>Clever midget made that huh?</em> Sombra thought to herself.</p>
<p>The hacker ran towards the mech before sliding on the ground, flinging her translocator which slid between its legs. As a hammer swung her way she activated her translocator, finishing the rest of her slide just behind Yeol. As D.va began to turn the mech Sombra leaped up, clinging onto it’s back. The clever pilot inside instinctively dash backwards into a wall, attempting to slam Sombra into it, but this time the hacker had another translocator ready. She tossed it into the air and teleported to it before she crashed into the wall, she then landed on top of the behemoth. She flicked her wrist, her hexagonal keys reappearing as she started the hacking process on Yeol.</p>
<p>Sombra blinked as Yeol’s absence of A.I. remnants and mostly made of ingenious analog components made the mech nearly impossible to override, let alone within a few seconds like with D.va’s MEKA.</p>
<p>The hacker growled as she racked her brain for another way out of her predicament, only to be met with a sudden pain. She was knocked off Yeol through blunt force, a blue translucent orb had slammed across her cheek making her lose her grip. She fell to the ground, landing on her side and shoulder, which made her yelp in pain, but quickly forced herself to stand.</p>
<p>Sombra turned her head, her violet eyes scanned past the rubble to find a floating monk, a hole in his robotic torso, but seemingly ready to fight as he gracefully waved his arms, a yellow orb finding its place above Tracer’s head. Sombra turned to watch as her team was being forced back into a corner as Widowmaker and Reaper were forced to retreat. She cursed under her breath as she took a step back, eyeing the ferocious pilot inside a behemoth of a machine.</p>
<p>”<em>Het universum zingt voor mij!</em>” The manic voice of Sigma boomed over all the gunfire, the man began to levitate higher into the air as he lifted his arm.</p>
<p>Sombra felt the very ground beneath her begin to shake and crumble, the building around them began to collapse. Her violet eyes widened as she reached out her right arm to grapple to solid ground, only to find her wrist band unloaded. Just as the floor beneath her gave way she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist.</p>
<p>She turned to her savior, but felt her heart sink. Doomfist, bloodied and battered, had grabbed her and used his golden gauntlet to rocket them out of danger. Just as they reached solid ground she felt as Akande chucked her, causing her to land on her ass, a sharp pain shooting up from her tail bone.</p>
<p>She groaned from the pain, but her attention was yanked away as she watched Zarya sprint past the Talon operatives, forming a bubble around herself and Mercy. The projected bubble around the angelic healer had protected her from falling debris, yet as more came the bodybuilder tackled Mercy to safety just as a girder crashed behind them.</p>
<p>Though not all were as lucky. Yeol struggled to hold up a piece of collapsing ceiling over itself and Tracer. The brit was conflicted, her opportunity to escape to safety was soured by the fact that D.va was trapped within the mech whose legs were buried under rubble, but one of the behemoth’s arms pushed Tracer to safety just before the rest of the ceiling collapsed on top of Yeol.</p>
<p>”No!” Sombra screamed as she felt a surge of energy, she shoved off the ground and hopped down towards the settling ruins. She spotted the severed arm of Yeol, which led her to find a bit of D.va’s new mech peeking through the rubble. She dropped to her knees as she began shoving debris out of the way.</p>
<p>The hacker heard footsteps behind her, but she refused to stop digging. “What are you doing?” Doomfist’s deep voice just behind her made a cold shiver run down her spine, but she kept yanking rubble out of the way. “Tch, I cannot say I did not see this coming.”</p>
<p>Sombra didn’t care anymore, the psycho behind her could say whatever he wished, her job was done, their partnership was done, she was gonna be out of here, but her wretched heart felt like it was being ripped apart by the apathetic void in her chest turned violent. So despite it all she kept digging even as she felt the wolves baring their teeth behind her.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until she uncovered the cracked cockpit of Yeol that she finally stopped. The glass was cracked, but not broken, and the pilot inside was unconscious and bloodied, but visibly breathing. Sombra never found herself to be the religious type but she couldn’t help but mutter, “<em>gracias a Dios</em>,” as she placed her forehead against the cracked glass. Her moment of relief was cut much too short however as she felt a gauntlet grab her and yank her off the floor.</p>
<p>She was lifted by her coat, forcibly faced towards Doomfist as his cold dead eyes stared into her own. “Pathetic,” he spat as his hand reached into her pocket. Sombra tried to stop him, she moved her own hands, her nails clawing into his arm trying to stop him from taking what he wanted. His hand found what it needed quickly despite Sombra’s best attempts, the circular plate that would have repaired the incubator in her absence. The hacker attempted to yank the device from his hands only to be thrown onto the floor, knocking the air out of her lungs for the second time that night.</p>
<p>The rest of the wolves surrounded her, circled around their captured prey. Sombra’s violet eyes searched the predatory stares for the heterochromatic pair. Moira watched from behind Reaper, a sense of disappointment in her features, “shame, I thought you were quite useful.”</p>
<p>The hacker felt rage fill her rib cage, like a caged animal that bore it’s fangs. She reached out her arm in an attempt to fire a hook shot from her wrist band, but the mechanism clicked, the barrel still empty. So she instead she reached for her machine pistol, only to remember that it had been melted. In one last desperate attempt for survival she pushed off the floor growling and reached her hands out to claw at the nearest person, who happened to be Doomfist.</p>
<p>Doomfist simply punched her gut with his normal arm. Sombra felt pain crackle through her whole body as a rib snapped from the pressure and rest of her breath left her body. Her growl was interrupted with a cough, a bit of blood escaping her mouth.</p>
<p>Sombra watched as darkness encroached from the edges of her vision, threatening to pull her into unconsciousness. She tried to fight, but she was tired, tired of surviving, tired of being against the world, tired of being alone. So her world quickly began to fade into the void, and as it did she felt a sprinkle of light rain find its way through the collapsed ceiling.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>X.X</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With a bark of a command rifles were raised and readied. Sombra had stared down the barrel of a gun many times, but for once she didn’t know if this would be her last. Yet her attention was still glued to the brunette that stood tall and defiant. A girl who refused to die as nothing but a warrior who fought with every shred of her energy until the end. Her soft brown eyes were strong, but sad. She was never truly prepared to die, but she refused to show that to the enemy. Somehow despite being starved, beaten, and sent to be executed like animals, D.va still seemed to burn bright.</p>
<p>”Ready!” A bark from one of the higher ranked Talon grunts rung like the signature bell toll of the grim reaper's arrival, “aim!” Sombra felt the urge to close her eyes, to prepare for what was to come, but she couldn’t help but stare at the brightest flame she had ever seen. The world deserved to see more of that light, but it seemed like it was going to be snuffed out before it’s time.</p>
<p>”Commander!” Another grunt interrupted the firing squad, a scrawny and frantic soldier that ran up to the commanding Talon soldier, “commander stop!”</p>
<p>The commander turned, along with Doomfist who had been supervising, “what is it!?”</p>
<p>”The incubator sir! It’s been encrypted”</p>
<p>”And this is my problem, why?”</p>
<p>The Talon grunt fidgeted as Doomfist’s eyes widened and became furious. The commanding officer seemingly still struggling to put two and two together, “sir, only the girl can decrypt it.”</p>
<p>Sombra let out a relieved breath. She had set up an encryption program within the repair disc, an extra precaution she knew was necessary, though she wasn’t sure if Talon would have realized before or after her death, as they had been cutting it close.</p>
<p>Doomfist yelled, his slamming one fist into a table which snapped in two. He then stormed off, leaving the commanding officer to handle the situation himself. “Then take her to a cell, soldier!” The commanding officer yelled as if the psycho man child hadn’t thrown a tantrum right behind him.</p>
<p>The grunt stammered, but nodded, “y-yes sir!”</p>
<p>Sombra watched as the firing squad lowered their weapons, the scrawny soldier and his commanding officer approaching her, “consider yourself lucky,” the commander muttered to the hacker as he detached her restraints from the rest of the line.</p>
<p>”Wait,” Sombra protested, “I’m not leaving without D.va.”</p>
<p>The two Talon soldiers paused, they glanced at each other. Sombra peaked over at D.va, who’s eyes were as wide as saucers, completely astonished and at a loss for words. “You are not in a position to make demands,” the commander said, which pulled Sombra’s attention back to him.</p>
<p>”If she dies, I will make sure the incubator stays encrypted.” She said flatly, which made the commander falter. He took his time to weigh his options before grumbling to himself and motioning for the soldier to unhook D.va from the line of captives.</p>
<p>As they were being escorted away from the firing squad Sombra looked over her shoulder to watch D.va who still seemed to be in a catatonic state of shock. Her soft brown eyes met Sombra’s violet ones, and for one moment as the two stared at each other in silence the hacker could see something other than anger into those fiery eyes. It was then that the cacophony of rifle fire filled the air, D.va’s eyes widening with horror realizing that not everyone had escaped their twisted fate that day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So by the time I'm writing this particular note it has been officially one whole month since my last update to this fanfiction. The thought of that makes me really bummed out. This story started as a project to fill my time and find methods to busy myself so that I could escape from a bad cycle of depression. Not doing anything would make me feel down, and because I was down I wouldn't want to do anything. I had managed to get into the full swing of things after I put my mind into starting a few projects that made me feel accomplished, this one being one of them. In my pursuit of accomplishments I had also applied and got my first job. At first it was great, it was another task to fit into my schedule, it even got me paid which was nice. Though I quickly realized that this job was draining me emotionally and physically. This small retail store that I was a cashier for happened to be in the rougher side of town, being threatened and having police called became a weekly/common occurrence and by the time I'd finish my shifts and get home all I would manage to do is eat or sleep. Fortunately, I weighed the pros and cons and decided that the rest of my projects that I adored as well as my schooling shouldn't be placed on hold for a minimum wage paycheck, soon I'll be out of this job and ready to pick up and finish what I've started.<br/>TL:DR I got stuck in a real awful job for a bit which didn't let me write, now that I'm leaving said job expect way more frequent updates! Anyways, that was a whole long winded thing just to let you know that this story is going to get updated, and eventually finished, I'm not ghosting you all. I also just kinda needed to get that off my chest :') Thanks for listening.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Alone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I left you guys hanging for a while huh? Apologies to keep you guys on that cliff hanger for so long, but here's the new chapter, I hope you all enjoy. Just know that there is a light at the end of every tunnel.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mama was always a strict woman, if it weren’t for papa’s oversized heart she might’ve ruled over the household with a tyrannical iron fist. Though her tough love was always just that, love. Hana recalls the amount of times she had been scolded for not properly taking care of herself. During long binges of gaming that was only interrupted by sleep she would be berated for not at least brushing her teeth. She wondered how her mama would react at the sight of her now, if she’d be just as furious as Hana’s primal fears imply or if she’d be horrified like the good mother she is.</p><p>Hana knew it would definitely be the latter but she couldn’t help but flinch every time she ran her fingers through her grease matted hair. She could feel the extra layer of dirt that seemed impossibly stuck to her skin, regardless of her attempts to wipe it away. The rags she had been forced into were practically potato sacks as the rough material rubbing against her skin felt like sandpaper. Luckily she couldn’t quite get a good look of herself, though the reason being that there was no light in the small cubical room she was thrown into.</p><p>She had tried to keep the time using her internal clock, but as time passed she would doze away to uncomfortable sleep and awake at god knows when. There was no night and day, only isolated darkness. The only light she was offered was the faint dim beams that seeped under the slit of the reinforced door. Though occasionally a small slit would slide open to offer a bit more light and some food, though that would close as quickly as it opened, plunging her into the abyss of darkness once more.</p><p>The darkness was maddening, few times she would open her eyes to see nothing, wondering if she had passed away in her sleep and all that awaited her in the afterlife was the same darkness that imprisoned her in her final moments. Though the pain in her neck would quickly remind her she was still stuck in her mortal vessel, alive but not well.</p><p>Hana was quick to bore, she does not do well without something to keep her mind busy, be it gaming, watching shows, fixing her mech, or sometimes a hectic combination of the three. Here she had nothing to keep the dark recesses of her mind from creeping to the forefront, the worries in her chest and the despair in her heart. Would she ever get to see the light of day again? Is this where it all ends, before she could become the hero she so desperately dreamed of being?</p><p>As her eyes settled on the inklings of light that reminded her that there was in fact a world outside the never ending abyss, she wondered. She wondered if her allies were searching for her, or if they realized that Talon had done them a favor and cut off their weakest link. The latter was easier to accept as imagining Lena growing increasingly more frantic and worried would make Hana’s heart ache too much to bear. In reality the idea of any of her friends worrying themselves to death over Hana’s own choice made her eyes prickle, a threat of tears she couldn’t afford to fall into.</p><p>She had to remain strong and vigilant, she couldn’t show weakness, she was much stronger than what these creeps could dish out and she wasn’t about to let them win. So instead she shifted along the stone floor to begin her routine of push ups. A habit Jack had tried to instill in her, but she’d often lose track of time. Though now was as good a time as any to start despite the lack of nutrition and proper sleep.</p><p>It kept her body from completely deteriorating, though it did not help her mind. As she counted each push up in her head her mind would wander, to her worries, to fears, or even memories which would make her lose her count. Today she lost count at 4 push ups. The distant worry that her mind would remain in this dilapidated state would have worried her if she had the energy to humor the thought. Instead as her arms began to burn her mind would wander to a distinct color of violet.</p><p>Two violet eyes that would appear in the darkness, illuminated much in the same way she’d seen those purple gadgets flicker with light when activated. Her ears sometimes caught fleeting murmurs of a confident accented rolling R’s. Hana would normally force away her intrusive thoughts and stifle away her strange fascination with a particular set of eyes and voice, but her mental fortitude proved insufficient in such regard.</p><p>Having lost count of her push ups she continued pumping her arms until they would give out, unable to lift her once more. The cold cracked stone floor pressed against her cheek as she layed in the darkness alone. She could feel how her chest pushed against the floor and the subtle pain it caused, but she was too tired to move, and yet she could not sleep. When every waking moment remained endless night it was hard to fall unconscious, as waking up felt like another nightmare.</p><p>After an indiscriminate amount of time she pushed off the floor, now feeling how specks of crumbled concrete had stuck to her face, leaving an imprint that she was sure would have looked pink if she could see. She shuffles herself and leans her back against the wall, looking up at what she’d guess would be the ceiling. The darkness in her view seemed to almost spiral into a whirlpool of shadows, she was unsure if the flow of the abyss above her was due to her dehydrated eyes failing to send the appropriate signals to her brain, or if her head just couldn’t seem to make sense of the infinite emptiness.</p><p>Suddenly her ears are filled with a sudden jarring noise. A high pitch ringing like chirp that would fill the empty air every few seconds, a cricket. Hana looked around the room, only to find darkness and no sign of the creature, shrugging it off she turned her attention back to the ceiling. A few more seconds passed before the jarring chirp filled the room again, Hana continued to ignore it as she shifted, trying to get more comfortable against the wall. She let out a sigh as she found a position that didn’t hurt quite yet, but her moment of finite relaxation was interrupted by another chirp. Hana felt her lips twitch, she huffed out trying to continue to ignore it.</p><p>Hana waited for the next chirp, but another second passed and she was left to silence again, she smirked. Then just as another empty second would pass her ears would be pierced by the chirp again, which only seemed to get higher and higher pitched each time she heard it. She groaned angrily as she opened her eyes, still surrounded in darkness as she began to sift through the room. Every new chirp would clue her into where the damn thing should have been, but once she thought she found the source the sound would reverberate from the other side of the room.</p><p>She punched the floor after what felt like an eternity of searching, the damn thing wouldn’t shut up and each time she heard it she swore it sounded like the damn thing was laughing at her. The high pitch chirp seemed to almost morph into a screeching cackle, laughing at the creature that was the supposed apex predator of the modern age. Hana couldn’t find it, couldn’t get rid of it so she began to curl against the floor, her forehead pressed against the harsh pavement as she covered her ears.</p><p>The sound was drowned out and muffled, but still there, seemingly in the distance. Cackling at her as she had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, forced to listen as the world took pleasure in her misery.</p><p>Then suddenly she could see color, a strange red and orange amorphous form filled her vision, her eyebrows etched together in confusion only to realise that her eyes were still closed and it was just bright light seeping through her eyelids. Light- light, there was light! She uncovered her ears and opened her eyelids as she pushed off the floor to look over to where the light had come from.</p><p>She felt her heart drop into her stomach as in the opened doorway to her isolated chamber stood a tall masked figure. An armored man with a bloodied apron haphazardly draped over his Talon uniform, his face covered by a disturbing white gas mask with multiple bloodied stitches sprawled across it, almost as if it were permanently attached to his face. He was fully dressed from head to toe, anywhere his uniform didn’t cover his skin was instead covered by crusty bandages.</p><p>Hana’s eyes widened as she scrambled to the wall behind her, “no-” she said instinctively, her voice hoarse from lack of use. “No no no, stay away from me.” She croaked out as the man’s heavy boots thumped against the floor of her cell, his leather gloved hand reached forward and yanked Hana to her feet. She did her best to pull away, to break free as she was pulled down the dimly lit cold and labyrinthian hallways.</p><p>She did the best she could despite how exhausted and hungry she was. She let her abnormally outgrown nails dig into the sleeve of his uniform, hoping that it’s sink through, but he remained unperturbed. So she bit him, using all the strength on her jaw as her teeth sunk through the disgusting cotton that was splattered with dry blood. It was then she got a reaction from the masked monster.</p><p>She heard an angry grunt garble through the gask mask as his other hand grabbed her by the neck, her eyes widened as he used his weight and inhuman height to slam Hana into the nearest metal wall. Her head and back made the metal ring with a low hum as she was slammed, causing her to wince and lose her grip on his arm.</p><p>She would have gone for another bite if not for the fact that he pulled out a bloodied rag and stuffed it into her mouth and tied it around her head with practiced speed, she didn’t have enough time to react before her mouth was gagged and she was yanked further into the halls. Despite it all, she still struggled every second, refusing to let him have it easy.</p><p>Hana watched as the man pulled her to another cell door, her eyes widened as she kicked and pulled harder. As the door got closer, her chance to escape got further and further away, but she couldn’t beat the unnatural strength of the monstrous man who yanked her down the hall, even if she had been in a healthier condition she doubts she would’ve have been able to escape his grasp anyway as he seemed unaffected by her attempts to pull away.</p><p>Her heart dropped deeper into her stomach as the monster’s heavy hand grabbed the door and yanked it open. Hana felt the floor leave beneath her in an instant as she was thrown into the room. Her shoulder slammed and skidded across the stone floor, the harsh concrete scraping against her skin and leaving behind a bloodied scrape on her arm.</p><p>Hana took a few seconds to reorient herself before attempting to push herself off the floor, if this is where she was taken to die then she’s not going out without a fight. As she raised her head she paused, her eyes met violet ones. Sombra sat in front of her, strapped into an uncomfortably metallic chair. Her wrists and ankles struggled against the buckled leather straps, another strap fastened around her waist to keep her still. She looked worse than Hana had ever seen her, her arms and legs were covered in old and fresh cuts of various lengths, bruises were laden across her body, her left hand was absent of nails.</p><p>”<em>Pinche pendejo</em>, let her go, you overgrown tumor!” She yelled as she continued to struggle against her restraints. Hana turned to see the monstrous man just behind her, his oversized hand reached down and grabbed her by the hair yanking her to her feet.</p><p>With the gag in her mouth the profanities she tried screaming were unintelligible. In another swift and precise motion, the large hand of the monstrous man jabbed a syringe into Hana’s neck. Her eyes widened, the pain was otherwise minimal, but she watched as a dull green liquid was injected into her system.</p><p>Within seconds Hana’s body began to fail her. The fight in her was quelled by the strange liquid that forced her muscles to relax. Her limbs slumped to her horror as she was dropped onto the floor. Without the ability to catch herself, her body slammed onto the harsh concrete.</p><p>”<em>Ya parale!</em>” Hana heard Sombra’s growling screams of protest, trying to sound intimidating despite having no power in the depths of Talon’s den. Hana’s lungs felt encumbered, almost as if the very bones that protected them now only served to restrict her breathing. Her eyes darted around her restricted vision from the floor, her limbs felt like they weighed three tons each.</p><p>Hana watched his shadow inch closer as his blood stained boot stepped closer to her face. Her hair was yanked back, lifting her head from the filthy floor, bending her back and neck awkwardly so that Hana can face Sombra.</p><p>Hana was ready to glare, to stare death in the face and show it she wasn’t going down without a fight, even if she could no longer move, the last thing she’ll be before she dies is scared, but she wasn’t prepared to face the look on Sombra’s face. Unlike her own limp limbs, Sombra’s arms and legs kept thrashing and fighting against her restraints. Her eyes, the same violet eyes that always seemed so calm and collected, as if every action was planned from the very beginning, were no longer calm nor collected.</p><p>Sombra was worried, the way her eyebrows etched together, twitching only slightly upward despite the angry facade she donned. Sombra’s lips quivered, a deep unsettling frown pulling at the ends of her mouth. It reminded Hana of how Lena’s eyebrows would quirk out of concern, or the way Angela’s forehead would crinkle up when she had to patch Hana’s wounds, or even the way Zarya’s lips pursed when she couldn’t protect everyone.</p><p>It dawned on her, much like herself, much like her allies, Sombra was just a girl with a name. For the first time, Hana saw the girl underneath the mask, a girl who’s name she didn’t know, and that girl was scared.</p><p>”Code,” the monster muttered, it’s voice coarse and forced through a gurgle, as if it’s throat were filled with blood, “code.” It muttered again, as it thrusted Hana’s head forward, making Hana flinch out of pain, and Sombra flinch out of concern. The gag that had been tied over her mouth had come loose from the mishandling of the monstrous hands gripped on her hair.</p><p>Hana watched as violet eyes darted from her own face to the monster that had them both caged. She could see Sombra’s head searching for the solution, a clever answer, or a brilliant strategy to fix their mess, but Hana knew that there was only one decision to be made, and it was far from clever. She used whatever muscles in her tongue would listen and spit the gag out of her mouth.</p><p>”Don’t-” Hana forced herself to speak, her lungs weak and mouth slow, but she grit her teeth, forcing her body to obey, “-don’t say shit.”</p><p>Sombra’s thrashing stopped, her eyes wide and baffled but just quickly found her composure. Her expression steeled and her eyes refocused, her worry now invisible, but not gone as Hana now knew. Though the metal of Sombra’s mask cracked, even for a moment as her eyes darted towards the reinforced door that groaned open.</p><p>Hana’s head wasn’t turned as her limp body was still at the whims of her monstrous captor. All she could see was Sombra’s attempts to steel herself, to not let her eyes widen with the primal fear that threatened to crawl out. Yet she remained still, doing her best to be as calm and collected as Hana was used to seeing.</p><p>A deep chuckle then hit her ears like a dooming epiphany, she should’ve known who would be the one to forcefully chip away at Sombra’s mask with a glance, as the sound of his presence made Hana’s heart drop into the floor. It was then she was moved, lifted off the ground from her hair. She was paralyzed, but unfortunately whatever foreign compound that rendered her still didn’t offer any form of pain relief.</p><p>She winced and ground her teeth, refusing to make a noise despite the pain, and from the corner of her vision stepped forth Doomfist, uncharacteristically without his golden gauntlet. “What a sad sight to see,” his voice, although level and calm seemed to boom within the otherwise silent cell, “unlike Sombra, you stood strong.” He gave a single nod to Hana, “but unfortunately you were not strong enough.”</p><p>Sombra yanked at her restraints”<em>Te lo juro si la tocas, te voy a chingar-<em>” Hana watched as Sombra’s slew of spanish threats was halted by Doomfist striking her with the back of his heavy hand. As Sombra reeled, Hana watched a bit of blood drop from the hacker’s lips only for her sight to be obstructed by Doomfist’s glare.</em></em></p><p>”You would have had a warrior’s death,” his deep voice seemed almost solemn, as if she had been robbed of a great honor, “but now you are nothing but a stepping stone, so that we can crush the woman behind me.” He grinned, a deeply unsettling grin that made Hana want to hurl with disgust, “I’ll offer you a choice, you deserve that much. Either aid us, and live to see another day, or rot here with the weakling who selfishly dragged you along.”</p><p>Hana stared at him indignantly, feeling the pain of her hair being pulled from her scalp wore her patience thin, so her only response was to spit in his face. Doomfist flinched for the first time in Hana’s memory, as he wiped away the saliva she watched the anger boil in his face, much like when their execution was sabotaged, she relished in his frustrations as for now she would take any win she could get.</p><p>Though her triumph was cut short as Doomfist he murmured orders through a sneer, “start the process, do not hold back.” He stepped away from Hana, crossing his arms, “they do not deserve it.”</p><p>Hana’s scalp felt some relief as the monster’s grip loosened, though it was overshadowed from the pain of her body limply slamming against the floor. She groaned, unable to instinctively curl from the pain, while the monster kneeled down over her.</p><p>”Code,” it muttered again, in it’s disgusting gurgle of a voice.</p><p>Hana swallowed hard feeling as her heart hammered against her chest, “fuck you,” she choked out.</p><p>She heard shifting above her, then Sombra’s angry threat, “don’t you fucking dare!”</p><p>All Hana could see while face down was the incredibly filthy stone floor and the cracked concrete wall. Though her breathing quickened from the context clues of Sombra yanking against the buckled leather straps of her chair.</p><p>Hana closed her eyes in anticipation, gritting her teeth as she expected the worse, and worse did come. A searing pain shot out from her back, as the signal carried across her nerves like a spider web of agony. She knew this feeling, there had been plenty of times she’s been stabbed, either from broken glass, or deliberately from an assailant, but this was different. The incision wasn’t sudden, it was a slow and deliberate, she felt as the blade sunk into her flesh, deeper into her back.</p><p>The pain muddled Hana’s brain, the knife almost seemed to burn against her freshly sliced flesh, the sliced nerve endings screaming in white hot pain. She could hear Sombra yelling again, but she couldn’t make out the words anymore, all she could think about was how the very same blade was slowly being dragged up her back, splitting her flesh open like freshly dead livestock.</p><p>The problem was that she was still alive, every fibre of her being wanted to thrash and scream, but she couldn’t move and she refused to make a noise. She clenched her teeth, pushing down the primal cries of pain that these sick bastards were looking for. Then suddenly the blade was pulled out of her back.</p><p>She felt her own blood begin trickling down her sides, the slice that spanned down from her lower back up to her shoulder blade stung with an intense heat, but nowhere near as painful giving her a moment to catch her breath and unclench her teeth.</p><p>”All this could stop,” Hana heard Doomfist from above her, “hand us the encryption codes Sombra, and we’ll leave your little pet alone.”</p><p>”Don’t you fucking dare!” Hana finally cried out, but it was a growl, an angry burst of ferocity, “let them kill me, fuck if I care, just don’t give them shit.” It sounded like a threat, but really she was begging Sombra.</p><p>She felt a boot slam into the back of her head, to which Sombra yells, “you fucking- <em>te voy a matar, pinche perro!</em> I’ll fucking kill you!”</p><p>Hana’s head was reeling, the swift kick to her head shifted her body, the fresh wound on her back stinging while her head was reeling. She felt dizzy and what little food was in her system threatened to come up as she swallowed some bile that made its way up her throat. The sole of a boot pressed against her skull.</p><p>”There, a perfect place for an insect,” she winced as she felt his heel grind against the side of her head, “the infestation of roaches is multiplying, and now it’s my job to eradicate them.”</p><p>”Stop!” Sombra yelled, “just stop already!”</p><p>The foot halted, only for a moment, “then give us what we want.”</p><p>Hana bit her lip, but only silence followed, Sombra remained tight-lipped. <em>Good</em>, she thought, even as she braced herself for more pain. She felt the end of the blade graze against the skin of her back, sharp enough to part the first layer of skin despite only lightly sliding against her, “then we will take it,” Doomfist hummed, sending a chill up Hana’s spine.</p><p>The blade sunk into her back once more, this time deeper as she felt the tip scrape against her ribs while swimming through the muscles of her back. As much as she fought to stay silent, to remain strong, a pained whimper slipped past her lips as she felt the blade rip through her back.</p><p>The blade stopped, “such a pity,” Doomfist’s voice was flat, cold, and entirely unnerving, “you fought so valiantly, only to squirm on the floor like vermin.” His chuckle was deep and devoid of empathy, “you have only one person to thank for that.”</p><p>Hana could feel a familiar burning fire in her stomach, an anger that’s been building up for much too long, but to snap and act like a caged animal was what they wanted, to tap into her primal urges and to manipulate them for their own gain so instead she laughed. A forced laugh of course, one cut short by a weak cough, but a laugh in their face nonetheless, “you talk big for someone who didn’t think to ask for the password.”</p><p>Her comment was rewarded with a swift yet hefty kick to her side, of which made her body slam into the adjacent wall before limply tumbling to the floor. She winced and coughed, her body was now face up, her sliced back painfully pressed against the dirty stone floor. The single fluorescent light in the room was too bright as it made her eyes squint.</p><p>The bright light was eclipsed by a mass of hatred and muscle, “do not test me, girl, I can have you killed with one word.”</p><p>Hana stared him down, her head muddled with pain and dizziness from concussion. She would’ve sassed him if her words weren’t stuck at the tip of her tongue, come up with a quippy response to piss him off but her thoughts were hazy.</p><p>It was then Sombra offered a rebuttal, “but you haven’t, huh <em>chico</em>?” Hana could see the hacker in the corner of her vision, her face was smug, yet defiant. Even if she were feigning it to a degree, it was the calm and collected side of Sombra that Hana knew well. It gave her some kind of strange comfort to see such a shit eating grin on the hacker’s face.</p><p>Her violet eyes stared Doomfist down, her chin held high, “you fucked yourself over <em>pendejo</em>.” Hana watched as Doomfist’s nostrils flared and his terrifyingly cold exterior was melting as Sombra playfully chided him, “you see, you’re the kind of psychopath who gets impatient. If you could kill her off you would, but you can’t, can you?”</p><p>Doomfist stepped closer, his hand reached out and grabbed Sombra by the neck, “you know nothing!” He yelled, quickly devolving down to another bratty temper tantrum.</p><p>”<em>Oh, pero lo se</em>, I know that you can’t kill her, or me, because you want your precious little decryption key.” She began to chuckle, a tired but hearty chuckle, one Hana has heard before, one Hana couldn’t help but feel relieved to hear.</p><p>Doomfist stared her down with wild eyes, he looked about ready to snap, to tear both of them apart with his inhuman strength, and Hana found some twisted part of her that wish he would. That way they’d win, and Talon would have lost their only opportunity to reach their goals which were inches from their fingertips. That way it would have been Doomfist’s fault, his childish temper tantrum costing them their victory.</p><p>That way she’d no longer be a barter chip, a piece only important due to Sombra’s say so. That way she’d no longer be holding her teammates behind. That way she would no longer be a damsel in distress that causes more trouble than she’s worth.</p><p>Then Doomfist took a deep breath, closing his eyes and taking a step back, by some chance reeling in his murderous tendencies. “No matter,” he spoke calmly as he wiped blood off his sleeves, “we will take what we need. It is only a matter of time.</p><p>Sombra’s smug smirk faded away as Doomfist stepped over Hana. Lifting her by the neck of her filthy and ragged shirt, “every animal can be trained.”</p><p>Hana could see the hacker’s violet eyes falter in the corner of her vision, her own eyes turned to her. She wasn’t sure if Sombra would understand, she felt the fire burning inside of her, the same one that although terrified refused to give in, and she hoped Sombra could see. And miraculously she did, her wide violet eyes caught Hana’s brown ones, and she saw a glint of recognition as Sombra’s expression began to burn with defiance and gave a discreet nod.</p><p>Hana turned back to see the unnerving expressionless stare that Doomfist gave her, but she saw in his eyes the wicked beast that he fought to hold still. His other arm grabbed her by the neck as he stepped forward, slamming her into the closest wall. She couldn’t feel the floor below her as she was held up by the grip around her throat. She winced as she felt her wounds collide with the stained wall, her breathing also cut off, her lungs instinctively struggling to gather more oxygen in vain.</p><p>The abyss threatened to take her as swirling darkness encroached from the edges of her vision. It reminded her of her isolation, the darkness in a cold uninviting room that left her alone, at least this time she wouldn’t have to be conscious through it. A seemingly luminescent set of eyes caught the attention of her quickly fleeting thoughts, violet eyes that were worried. She wondered if she had already been knocked out, as she had only seen those eyes in her dreams.</p><p>Then suddenly the grip around her throat was gone and she dropped to the floor. To her surprise her instincts kicked in and her body responded, though her arms were still weak and largely unresponsive, as they moved to catch her but collapsed under her own weight. Her lungs filled with air as quickly as they could as she gasped, the darkness around her vision slowly drifting away.&lt;/P.</p><p>She shifted her head as she coughed, the process was slow and imperfect, but it meant that the drug was starting to wear off and she’d eventually have her body back. She looked up to see Doomfist once agains furious, but his anger was instead directed to whoever seemed to be ordering him over the discreet earpiece he covered with his oversized finger, “I am <em>busy</em>”</p><p>The silence was palpable, her heart hammered against her chest working overtime for the previously lost oxygen. Doomfist looked down at her with complete disdain, “understood.” He muttered into his ear piece as he crouched down in front of Hana, “it seems as I have matters elsewhere. But I will return.” His voice sent shivers down her spine, but she only glared at him.</p><p>Doomfist stood, and turned to the monster man that Hana had forgotten about entirely. The masked head tilted to the side like a curious puppy as Doomfist began to calmly give him orders, “do not touch them unless I am here- in fact, leave them locked up here.” He glanced over his shoulder to glare at Sombra, “my business here is far from over.”</p><p>The monstrous masked man’s shoulders slumped, seemingly disappointed but it still obeyed. He moved to knock on the heavy reinforced door, almost denting it in the process, before a lackey opened it from the other side. Hana watched helplessly as the door that led to freedom and away from this hell closed behind her captors and locked, leaving her alone with the hacker.</p><p>Hana laid her head down to catch her breath, closing her eyes and trying to shove down the bubbling mass of emotions that threatened to spill. She began to slow her breathing, inhaling and exhaling on a steady tempo, a technique she learned from Angela, though she probably didn’t mean for it to be used to suppress emotions. Eitherway Hana would need to make sure to thank her if she ever gets the chance.</p><p>”<em>Chica?</em>” Sombra’s voice cut through Hana’s thoughts, not because the hacker was loud, but because it was painfully quiet.</p><p>Hana slowly lifted her head and squinted her eyes. Sombra looked much worse than herself, as she had noticed before, she was surprised the hacker could even bother to stay conscious with how battered she was. Without thinking her body began to move, her limbs still as heavy as logs, yet she crawled her way to Sombra’s chair.</p><p>Despite the pain in her back, the way her stomach threatened to puke, and the hazy concussion she had she forced herself to sit on her knees once she was within arms reach of Sombra. The process was painstakingly slow, but she began to un-buckle the hacker from her restraints.</p><p>”... <em>Chica-</em>” Sombra’s voice became a bit louder, if only due to her confusion, “D.va, <em>deberías descansar</em>, you should rest-”</p><p>”Shut up,” Hana refused, stubbornly, as she failed to unhook the strap for the fifth time before finally getting one of them unfastened, “finally…” she muttered.</p><p>Hana watched as Sombra lifted her hand, rotating her wrist and gripping the air as she tested her regained dexterity, “I can do the rest from here,” she said as she began freeing her other arm.</p><p>Hana would have helped unfasten more, but her back burned with pain with every slight uncontrolled movement, so instead she just lowered herself back to the floor, trying to at the same time stop her head from spinning by closing her eyes.</p><p>She heard as Sombra progressively unbuckled each restraint, the barely audible metallic clanking of belt buckles slipping free, but just kept her head down. To trust Sombra was something she thought was to be impossible not too long ago. Of course her gut yelled at her that there was something more to the hacker, especially because she knew the latina wouldn’t seriously harm her, for whatever reason that may be.</p><p>Previously she had tried following her intuition, but maybe she had gone about it the wrong way, as confronting the hacker only made her bark back with the words Hana couldn’t bear to hear. She spoke the truth to some regard, Hana was in fact just an impressionable girl, but the way Sombra’s violet eyes stared into her own when she was abruptly thrown into the same cell, let Hana know that she wasn’t the only one.</p><p>”D.va,” she heard Sombra whisper, “just hold still, okay?”</p><p>Some part of Hana still wanted to fight back, to stop Sombra from touching her, the part of her that remembered what the hacker called herself. A “criminal,” yet Hana’s chest felt free from anxiety, no criminal would speak so gingerly.</p><p>She felt as she was shifted on to her side, placed in the most comfortable position possible despite the stone floor and multitude of injuries, and felt as her head was lifted and set on something soft. Hana’s eyebrows etched in confusion as she opened her eyes, only to find that her head had been placed on Sombra’s lap, violet eyes staring down with a familiar sense of concern Hana had only seen before in her dreams.</p><p>Hana stared up at the hacker in silence, inspecting her facial features. Her beautifully tanned skin, now covered in cuts in bruises, her full yet busted upper lip, and almost luminescent violet eyes.</p><p>She then reached up, limply and weakly slapping the hacker, “are you fucking stupid?”</p><p>Sombra’s eyes were wide, stunned by the sudden abuse, “-what?”</p><p>”Do you know what you fucking gave them?” Hana pushed off the floor, lifting her head from Sombra’s soft thighs to angrily stare the hacker in the eyes. Though due to her lethargy she could only do so by placing her forehead against Sombra’s. Her arms weakly lifted to grab her by the collar.</p><p>Sombra shrinked back, Hana’s sudden scolding taking her by surprise, yet she found her hands on Hana’s sides to keep her upright, “the incubator?”</p><p>”No dumbass! How do you not know!”</p><p>The hacker paused, her mouth opening and stammering, trying to find the right words, “it wasn’t my problem.”</p><p>Hana felt anger bubble up to her chest, “not your problem!?” She began weakly shaking Sombra’s shirt, “giving a terrorist organization a fucking god program isn’t your fucking problem!?”</p><p>Sombra blinked, completely stunned. It took a moment, but Hana finally saw the dots connect in the hacker’s eyes, “the egg-”</p><p>Hana weakly bonked Sombra’s head with her fist, “<em>meongcheong-i</em>...”</p><p>The anger quickly dissipated, she was much too tired and it didn’t matter now. All that mattered was not letting Talon get the encryption key. Her body was beginning to feel heavy again, though not from some unknown drug, but instead from exhaustion. She slumped down onto Sombra, her chin resting on Sombra’s shoulder as the hacker leaned back onto the foot of the metal chair.</p><p>”<em>Lo siento</em>, I’m sorry… I-” Hana could feel Sombra’s chest against her own as the hacker took in a shaky breath, “it’s all my fault. I didn’t want to drag you into this, I didn’t know-”</p><p>”Shut up,” Hana cut her off, taking the moment to close her eyes, “you didn’t drag me anywhere, I made my own choices. And you can make up the rest by getting us out of here.”</p><p>Sombra remained silent for a moment, “I can’t.”</p><p>Hana opened one eye as she raised an eyebrow, “what do you mean you <em>can’t?</em>”</p><p>The hacker moved her free arm to reach behind her head, pulling away her ragged hair to reveal a strange spider like metal contraption that had been painfully drilled into the back of her neck and neurotech, “it disrupts the internal circuitry.”</p><p>Hana snaked an arm around Sombra’s body and up her back, her fingers gingerly tracing the horrifically installed piece. It had legs much like a spider, but each leg tip had been drilled into Sombra’s neck, dried blood was still caked along the drill holes. Hana shuddered as she inspected the hacker’s neck, “does it hurt?” She asked tentatively.</p><p>”Like you would not believe.” Sombra responded calmly, the tone of her voice betraying her words, but Hana knew that she was telling the truth.</p><p>Hana’s hands gripped onto the back of Sombra’s shirt as she slumped even lower. She hid her face in the nook of Sombra’s arm, the bubbling pot of emotions in her stomach churning as she could no longer hold back the tears that stung her eyes, “what are we gonna do?”</p><p>Her voice was muffled, yet Sombra seemed to understand as she caressed the back of Hana’s head, being careful not to touch the girl’s back, “we’ll figure something out.”</p><p>Sombra watched as the girl in her arms would shake and shudder from her silent sobs. She gripped furiously to the back of her shirt and hid her face away in the hacker’s filthy shirt. Sombra was never good with emotions, especially crying, she hadn’t cried in years, let alone having to comfort someone else who was.</p><p>No, Sombra had always been alone… though that isn’t quite true, she remembered a time when she was incredibly young, before she knew what a computer was, or even touched one. When she was so young that even scraping her knee would leave her in a burst of tears.</p><p>A melody her mama would sing to her, some old strange song from before either of them were born, but one they both adored. Her voice was hoarse from screaming, but she tried her best, as it was the only thing she could think of.</p><p>
  <em>"Odd one, you’re never alone"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I’m here and I will reflect you"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Both of us basically unattached to anything,"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"or anyone unless we’re pretending."</em>
</p><p>Hana’s sobbing began to calm and slow, her shuddering melting into slow and steady breaths. Sombra kept going, relieved that her dumb idea somehow worked.</p><p>
  <em>"You live your life in your head,"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"some call it imagination."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I’d rather focus instead on anything,"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"except what I’m feeling… what I’m feeling"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Odd one."</em>
</p><p>Sombra watched as Hana’s breathing found a slow rhythm, the grip on the back of her shirt loosened as the girl’s body began to relax. If Sombra focused she could hear barely audible snores, letting her know that Hana had succumbed to her exhaustion.</p><p>The hacker swallowed the lump of saliva in her throat. She had no clue how they would survive this one, she no longer had any tricks up her sleeves, or back up plans to fall back to. Though as sleep threatened to take her she could only think about how she was glad that for now, she wasn’t alone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry to leave you guys off on another cliff hanger, I promise I'm not evil!<br/>Anyway I would just like to thank you all for your support and your comments, it makes me much more motivated to keep this story going and make sure that it'll come to eventual completion. This year has been tough on us all and I hope I offer some kind of escape much in the same way writing this had brought me. Please excuse the long time between my updates as it seems to only be one thing after another, but do not worry there will be more.<br/>As a few notes, I was weirdly excited about this chapter while writing the previous ones up to it. I like to think this is the shift that will make things a little more interesting going forward.<br/>! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ewUXE_SBI ! Here is the song that Sombra sings to D.va at the end of this chapter, I've had this planned for a while now as I had always thought that the lyrics fit the two nicely.<br/>In other news, while writing a portion of this, I had to research some Korean for one of Hana's responses, but I was very sleepy and instead googled "How to call Sombra an idiot."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I seem to be continuously apologizing for the wait! Trust me I know how getting stuck on a cliffhanger can be, I'll try to keep these coming as fast as I can. Anyway like I said last time, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, you just gotta hold out long enough to see it. Hope you liked the chapter, see you all next time!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>God program was a term established during the omnic war. The catalyst of carnage and turmoil as these hyper-intelligent and powerful A.I. spread their reach across the globe by taking full control of not only omnics, but the omnium facilities that produced them. God was somehow the perfect term for these programs, with their sudden conception bringing forth historical turning points in human history, as well as a critical step to omnic cognition.</p>
<p>Sombra, under her usual operational rules, just did her job and didn’t ask many questions. A habit one would pick up working with the kinds of businesses willing to pay top dollar for the hacker’s skill set. After all, if the end result didn’t have anything to do with Sombra herself, then she could care less. She only did what would ensure that she’d have enough money to live as comfortably as she wanted, she could only worry for herself as no one else would.</p>
<p>The world ran on favors and bargains, the gears and mechanisms that made the world spin, and Sombra was entirely willing to use that to her advantage, even if it meant she had to step on others to climb to the top. Though the clockwork metal that had always served as stairs to Sombra’s guaranteed survival had seemingly cracked and crumbled underneath her feet.</p>
<p>She had practically handed Talon the means in which to bring forth an entirely new God program into creation. Due to her short sighted and selfish endeavors, she had almost wrought the world with a second cataclysmic omnic war, which would have been spearheaded by some of the most terrible people on earth. They had somehow collected what they had dubbed the “egg,” the framework that served as a skeleton for the A.I. core, and Sombra had handed them the rest.</p>
<p><em>Pinche pendeja, how could I have been so stupid?</em> Sombra’s thoughts chided her, the guilt that weighed heavy on her shoulders and formed a pit in her gut. Warnings had always been there, but she never cared to look, it wasn’t until the sleeping girl in her arms finally broke it to her that she was so close to giving an apocalyptic weapon to the employers that Sombra herself couldn’t bring herself to trust despite having been working with them.</p>
<p>Of course due to her lack of trust, she had been granted a second chance, she had set the machine built to repair the incubator to encrypt it as it finished. She figured she could’ve used it to strong arm some more money out of Talon after her departure, but now it was the only thing stopping the world from becoming a war zone. As well as the only bartering tool she had left, as they couldn’t kill her, or D.va as long as she kept her mouth shut.</p>
<p>It wasn’t like she’d be the one to normally spill, but she had to fiercely fight the urge as she watched the pain that D.va had to endure the day prior. She consciously made sure to not let her hands rest on the girl’s back as she neither wanted to aggravate the wounds or infect them. Though despite the sheer amount of pain D.va had been under, Sombra watched as her soft brown eyes burned brightly. The girl somehow had the willpower to practically order Sombra not to crack as a blade was dragged through her back.</p>
<p>”<em>Eres loca,</em>” Sombra muttered softly, careful not to wake D.va as she needed her undisturbed rest. It was impressive really, how crazily determined the young girl was, yet it somehow didn’t surprise Sombra, she had known for a while what kind of person D.va was.</p>
<p>It started innocently enough, which is a rare occasion on Sombra’s part, but she one day had only stumbled across one of D.va’s famous streams. Back before she was a part of Overwatch and instead one of the primary MEKA pilots who defended Busan from rogue omnic threats called gwishin. When she wasn’t busy defending her home, she streamed herself playing her favorite game, the same one that displayed her superior hand-eye coordination as well as reaction speeds, a factor to getting her accepted into the MEKA program.</p>
<p>Watching Starcraft wasn’t something Sombra particularly enjoyed, but somehow she found herself returning to D.va’s stream time and time and again, even to the point where she had set her neurotech system to quietly notify her everytime a stream started. During those streams Sombra could see D.va’s adamant idealism. At first the hacker chalked it up to finding the girl’s naivety entertaining to watch, but the more she watched the less she could use that excuse.</p>
<p>Something about D.va was special, at least special enough that Sombra found herself taking the time to find clever ways to interact with the korean icon without arousing suspicion. Eventually she found enough of her information to find her alternative Starcraft “smurf” account, and tinkered with the online matchmaking server to just so happen to put them in a few games together. It was relatively easy from there, using those same matches to reach out and offer something D.va could absolutely not refuse, information.</p>
<p>It was entirely selfish and reckless, but it wasn’t like those two exact words didn’t fit Sombra’s M.O. It was an act of impulsion, and as clever as she was, making sure to accept some of the money D.va initially offered to mask her intentions and keeping tabs on her squadron for the purposes of never having to cross paths in the undesirable way they had, it had eventually come to this.</p>
<p>It was her fault that not only was she thrown into this rough cell to be tortured, but that D.va was dragged into the wolves’ den with her. It was her fault a blade had been dragged through D.va’s back while she was unable to do anything but watch. It was her fault that she had to hold her in her arms with such caution due to her injuries.</p>
<p>She had been selfish like always, and for the first time she was beginning to regret it.</p>
<p>When D.va began to stir Sombra felt her thoughts scatter away with the wind, the lack of sleep and food made her brain pretty hazy to the point where if asked she might’ve not known exactly what she was thinking about. Though it didn’t seem quite as important as D.va shifted, a pair of soft brown eyes fluttering open. Their eyes met for a moment, caught in each other's stare while D,va’s sleepy mind slowly processed their current predicament.</p>
<p>They held that position only for a second before D.va’s cheeks flushed pink and eyes widened, her arms instinctively shoving away from Sombra in a panic, in the process losing her balance and slamming her back against the floor with a heavy thud.</p>
<p>”Ah- fuck!” D.va hissed as her back arched with pain, trying to quickly push off the ground to get her injuries away from the concrete, but she seemed to be struggling, the drugs from the day prior still having a noticeable effect.</p>
<p>Sombra instantly reached out to help, but hesitated. Despite being surprised, the hacker knew why D.va would act in such a way, she hadn’t been the most trustworthy as of recently. Still when the girl continued to struggle she reached forward to pull at her wrist to let her regain some of her balance</p>
<p>D.va’s eyes met Sombra’s once more, and although tentative she didn’t flinch away from Sombra’s touch. “Thanks…” D.va murmured as she sat up, she then placed her hands against the concrete floor to keep balance.</p>
<p>”No problem, <em>chica.</em>” Sombra’s voice was solemn, a far cry from her usual care free demeanor.</p>
<p>They shared a moment of awkward silence as they stared at one another. Only to be broken as D.va swallowed hard, turning her head as much as she could to inspect their surroundings. She then began to crawl across the concrete as she ran her hands across the dirty floor.</p>
<p>Sombra watched entirely confused, “what are you doing?”</p>
<p>”Looking for a screw,” D.va said, as if her words needed no further explanation.</p>
<p>The hacker blinked, D.va’s answer not quelling the confused curiosity in her chest, “why?”</p>
<p>D.va paused for a moment to glance over her shoulder towards Sombra, her brown greasy hair covering most of her face, unable to use a hand to push it away without losing her balance, “it doesn’t have to be a screw, but anything that’s metal I guess.”</p>
<p>She was met with awkward silence and Sombra’s bemused expression.</p>
<p>After a moment D.va’s expression changed, the soft brown eyes peeking through her hair glared at Sombra, “do you want to get out of here or not?”</p>
<p>”Of course I do,” Sombra said, becoming annoyed with D.va.</p>
<p>”Then help me find a screw!” D.va couldn’t quite yell, she wasn’t at full strength and her voice was hoarse, but she still barked at Sombra with more energy than the hacker knew she had.</p>
<p>Sombra’s brow furrowed as she shifted to begin inspecting the floor, “fine, <em>chica,</em> but you still didn’t answer my question.”</p>
<p>D.va’s expression softened, “sorry- I…” she huffed as she took a moment to sit down, “I just hate not being able to move my body.”</p>
<p>”Just chill out and I’ll look for the screw,” Sombra said dismissively as she began running her hands across the concrete.</p>
<p>D.va fumed, “you expect me to ‘chill out’ when we’re in a fucking torture chamber!?”</p>
<p>Sombra looked over to see soft brown eyes staring her down with intense anger, the hacker could almost hear the rattle of a snake as she was glared at.</p>
<p>She couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she approached D.va, “look, I know this is really fucked up-”</p>
<p>”Oh, you think so?” Venom dripped from D.va’s lips.</p>
<p>Sombra felt herself begin to broil, becoming more frustrated by the second with D.va’s behavior, but it quickly began to fade. The torn cloth on D.va’s back was stained with blood, much of which had coagulated, leaving her back much dirtier and crusted over than before. Her skin was pale from blood loss, and her arms shook under the strain of her weight.</p>
<p>Sombra fought the urge to try and hold her up, instead she scooted closer but not too close, 
maintaining eye contact despite the fury in D.va’s expression, “<em>Ponme atención,</em> under these situations it’s best to stay level headed. You’re hurt, and if you want to get out of here alive you’re going to have to keep any energy you have,” Sombra watched as D.va’s expression softened, “so please, calm down, and tell me why we need a screw.”</p>
<p>D.va lowered her head, ashamed at her own behavior, “your neck thing, they screwed something in your neck to stop you from using your computer.” D.va lifted her head, a softer, much more worried expression peaking through her hair, “it’s not the best but Ja- someone… someone told me how to unscrew things even if I didn’t have a screwdriver.”</p>
<p>Sombra blinked as she reached up to the spider-like contraption that had been disrupting her neurotech, wincing as it was still freshly installed, “that’s- that’s brilliant.” She admitted as she turned her attention to the search, feverishly searching for any screw or stray piece of metal, having to sift through a ton of pieces of crumbled concrete.</p>
<p>She first searched the chair she had been strapped to, hoping that it had slowly degraded over time to let her pull something off it. She was right as most of the metal had rusted over, but that also meant that any screws in the chair had melded due to the same rust, and any stray piece of the chair hadn’t corroded enough to be broken off.</p>
<p>She sighed as she searched around the chair, then slowly searched the rest of the room, carely not to bump into D.va as she did so. Unfortunately the only thing she could find was stray chips of concrete and dirt, nothing sturdy enough to unscrew anything.</p>
<p>Sombra eventually sat down next to D.va, taking a moment to rest, “there’s nothing useful.”</p>
<p> The hacker glanced over to D.va, expecting another furious glare, but instead found her staring dejectedly staring at a wall. She hadn’t moved much at all while Sombra searched the floor. She wondered how long D,va had been sitting there with such a gut wrenching expression</p>
<p>D.va then turned to look at her, Sombra had been caught staring, but by the hopeless look in those soft brown eyes, D.va didn’t seem to be in the mood to care, “we’re not going to get out, are we?”</p>
<p>Sombra felt her heart drop into the floor, she swallowed, “we’ll figure something out.”</p>
<p>D.va began to lean back, only to realize that laying her back on the floor would be much too painful, so instead she slowly leaned into Sombra’s shoulder, “like what?” Her tone even, disbelief evident in the way she slumped defeatedly against the hacker.</p>
<p>Sombra paused, she really had no clue how to answer her question, “we’ll-… we’ll figure something out…”</p>
<p>D.va didn’t respond, and for a moment the room was entirely silent. The walls were seemingly entirely sound proof, as the lack of any noise made Sombra uncomfortable. Though if there were any noise, she wouldn’t have heard the near silent sobbing. It was then she felt the frail body that leaned against her shoulder had been shaking with each sob.</p>
<p>Sombra didn’t know how to react. She bit her lip as she wracked her brain for what to do, but she felt entirely useless. Consoling another person was never her strong suit, she was never anyone’s first option in comfort, and even when she was under duress her methods involved toughening up and doing something about what made her upset or simply forgetting about it.</p>
<p>All she could do was sit there and watch as D.va quietly sobbed into her arm. Every fibre of her being wanted to move, to stop the tears that threatened to split her heart in two. It was a new feeling, so new that she couldn’t act on it. She didn’t feel like she was the person to help, she didn’t even know how to, and after all, she was the reason why D.va was in this mess to begin with.</p>
<p>After what felt like an eternity, D.va eventually stopped sobbing and the room returned to a haunting silence. Sombra felt as if time had slowed, as if the world had decided that now was a good time to freeze over. Her body refused to move, worried that if she made the wrong move that D.va would simply shatter like glass, an irrational thought fueled by painful exhaustion.</p>
<p>Then the door behind them opened and it felt like reality came crashing in, and somehow it was worse.</p>
<p>Both Sombra and D.va’s heads snapped to the sound of the heavy metal door swinging open. Sombra’s instincts kicked in as she stood, stepping in between D.va and the door. Though she was quickly surprised as a tall and quite thin redhead stepped in.</p>
<p>It had been so long since she had seen Moira. The woman was dressed in clean clothes, black slacks and white button up, a lab coat draped over her attire. Sombra’s head kicked into overdrive, thinking up every possible way she could over power the woman and get herself and D.va out of here.</p>
<p>Then the monstrous brute from yesterday stepped in behind Moira, and her courage was yanked away into a horrifyingly deep abyss of fear.</p>
<p>”<em>Que quieres,</em> what do you want?” Sombra growled in a low threatening tone.</p>
<p>Moira did not flinch, “I’m just curious to see how you are doing.”</p>
<p>Sombra’s glare was intense, but the woman only met the hostility with an icy calm exterior, which further angered the hacker, “here to satisfy your curiosity? To see how your lab rats are doing?” She spat venom at the redhead.</p>
<p>Moira didn’t respond, instead she turned her head to her monstrous body guard, “close the door.”</p>
<p>The hulking monster grunted a garbled response before closing the heavy door and standing in front of it, the sheer size of his body somehow covering the entirety of the door.</p>
<p>Once satisfied Moira returned her attention to Sombra, “I assure you, all of this is not of my accord.” Her tone was still even, almost robotic.</p>
<p>”That doesn’t mean shit,” Sombra snapped, “even if you aren’t lying, it’s not like you tried to stop them.” The hacker took a step forward, squaring her shoulders. Though she hesitated as the hulking monstrosity behind Moira flicked it’s head up, it’s oversized muscles tightened in anticipation.</p>
<p>Moira raised her hands to calmly stop the rising tension, “there’s no need to get violent.”</p>
<p>As if her word were the law, the monster slumped into his usual posture. Sombra bit her tongue as she leaned back into a non-threatening stance, “what’s your play, <em>chica?</em>?”</p>
<p>”I have no play.” Moira responded as she leaned slightly to catch a glimpse of D.va.</p>
<p>Sombra instantly widened her stance, blocking Moira’s view of D.va, “bullshit.”</p>
<p>Moira’s back straightened, her heterochromic eyes returning to Sombra, “none of the sort.” She began to move about the room, keeping a healthy distance away from both Sombra and D.va. She approached the seat that Sombra had been strapped to the day prior, inspecting it and running her hands along the leather straps. Sombra had done her best to keep her attention away from it, to focus on anything else in the room as she felt a shiver run up her spine and anxiety drop into her gut as she watched Moira fiddle with the straps.</p>
<p>Sombra refused to succumb to the feeling, she was the last line of defense between D.va and their captors, she stood over the girl who was still struggling to hold herself up as she watched Moira painstakingly inspect the chair, “are you done? Is this enough to satisfy your curiosity?” Sombra hissed.</p>
<p>Moira seemed to snap out of her thoughts, her unreadable eyes returning to Sombra. She quickly stepped away from the chair, and moved towards the exit of the room, “I believe so.”</p>
<p>”Good, get the fuck out.” Sombra’s eyes never strayed from Moira with a glare that could melt through steel.</p>
<p>As she approached the door, the monstrous man stood at attention, ready to open the door and escort her out, but she paused, which made the monster tilt its head. Moira instead looked over her shoulder towards Sombra, “it seems as though this piece of metal from the chair had broken off during my inspection.” She reached out her arm, and from her outstretched hand she dropped a small piece of bent metal, “it is of no matter, the grunt workers will get rid of it once they’ve cleaned the room.”</p>
<p>With that, Moira stepped towards the monster, who obediently opened the door for her, thinking nothing of the strange item she had discarded in the room. As the door shut, and the silence of the room returned Sombra found herself dumbfounded.</p>
<p>Their last piece of salvation, a small portion of bent metal, which seemed inconspicuous. It wasn’t a screw, but it’d get the job done. Sombra approached the piece cautiously, unsure if it had been a trick, but after careful inspection it was as Moira said, a simple piece of metal.</p>
<p>The hacker couldn’t tell if the woman had left them the item on purpose, if somehow she knew the one missing piece to their puzzle for escape. She doubted that Moira of all people would make such a mistake to give her captors a chance of escape.</p>
<p>She didn’t have time to ponder, she wasn’t sure what time it was, but she knew that with every second that passed they were ticking closer to having someone not as calm walk through that door. Sombra lowered herself onto her knees in front of D.va, the girl looked up to her through her hair, her eyes confused, “she left that…?”</p>
<p>Sombra nodded, “guess she did, c’mon <em>chica</em>,” she gently grabbed D.va’s wrist, lifting her hand up to place the metal in the girl’s palm, “you’re gonna have to help me out here.”</p>
<p>For a moment as violet eyes met D.va’s soft brown ones, she could see a spark burn into a flame, D.va gave a determined nod. Sombra turned her body, moving her matted hair out of the way.</p>
<p>Sombra took a deep breath as she felt D.va’s cool fingers reach up to the nape of her neck, delicately tracing where the disruptor device had been drilled into Sombra’s flesh. The hacker fought the urge to shiver against the touch.</p>
<p>”Ready?” She heard D.va’s voice behind her, a tone dripped with concern.</p>
<p>Sombra swallowed and lifted the neck of her shirt to her mouth, “ready as I’ll ever be.” She then bit down on the tough fabric as D.va began unscrewing.</p>
<p>As soon as D.va began twisting the bent metal against the screws, Sombra’s teeth clenched on her shirt, the cold metal burning with pain. D.va’s hands were shaky and imprecise, the bent metal shifting and sliding out from the screw grip, a painstakingly slow process. The hacker closed her eyes, her mind clouding over with the sheer amount of pain, having to hold back the urge to flinch or move, trying to keep as steady as possible.</p>
<p>Just when Sombra began wondering if it would ever stop, or if this was really her own hellscape she didn’t realize she was in until now, she heard as a screw hit the floor and silence returned to the room. She could only hear her own ragged breathing, waiting for the next screw and wave of pain, but it didn’t come, instead she felt a finger tap her shoulder.</p>
<p>Sombra finally opened her eyes and turned to find D.va, who’s face now looked nauseous, her soft brown eyes staring at the blood trailing down Sombra’s neck. Their eyes met once more and D.va lifted her hand to reveal the spider-like metallic contraption, which was now unattached from Sombra’s neck.</p>
<p>The hacker lifted her hand to check the back of her neck. Aside from four painful bleeding holes, she felt the neurotech on her neck, just as the day she made it. She grinned and pushed off the ground, once she was standing up she flicked her wrist, and back came her holograms. Her grin widened, “like riding a bike.”</p>
<p>She looked down to D.va, who stared up at Sombra expectantly. The hacker reached down and D.va took her hand, once they were both standing a chuckle rolled out from Sombra’s lips, “c’mon <em>chica,</em> we’re leaving this dump.”</p>
<p>D.va’s face was now determined, despite how exhausted she must have been, she grinned up at Sombra, “lead the way.”</p>
<p>It was then, for the first time in a long while, that there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Hana</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Heya, it's been a while hasn't it? I'm happy to say that I am in a better state than I was last year, and I hope that is the same for you all too, times have been tough. Though if my story offers and solace or distraction away from your worries then that's I could ever hope to achieve. I have been busy and maybe a bit distracted, but there will be more soon. Like I've said there's a light at the end of every tunnel, you just gotta keep moving forward and you'll find a way. Hopefully our heroes do the same. See you soon, and enjoy reading. Also, thank you for 100 Kudos! It makes me happy to know so many of you are enjoying my story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hana stared Sombra down intently, they were crouched on either side of the heavy metal door that kept them from their freedom. Hana found it hard to maintain her train of thought, or manage her emotions as she began to fester with annoyance. Her stare slowly turned into a glare as she watched Sombra’s violet eyes stare at the floor with her ear pressed against the door.</p><p>”What are we waiting for?” Hana’s eyebrow quirked expectantly.</p><p>Sombra’s eyes narrowed, “shh.”</p><p>Hana huffed and crossed her arms, “fine.”</p><p>After what seemed like a silent eternity had passed, Hana couldn’t help but fidget nervously. Somehow they suddenly had an opportunity to escape, to leave this infernal hell hole, back to the world that needed them now more than ever, and back to the friends who have all the reason to suspect Hana’s death. If it weren’t for Sombra’s paranoia to keep the incubator encrypted and her last second gambit, they both would have been dead.</p><p>Though what really irked Hana was that if it hadn’t been for Moira’s dubious assistance they would’ve probably never gotten the chance to escape. If it weren’t for the suspiciously stoic mad scientist that Hana had only heard awful things about, they would have spent the rest of their lives here, rotting within the concrete walls of Talon’s torture chambers. That thought bothered Hana the most.</p><p>She knew that they could very well be walking right into another of Talon’s sadistic traps, given a shining ray of hope only to rip it away at the last second, just to further tear down their determination. But she kept it to herself, if Sombra was anything she was smart enough to know this already, but both of them knew that they had to try because they didn’t know if another opportunity would ever come again.</p><p>”Chill <em>chica</em>.” Sombra whispered, bringing Hana out of her anxiety ridden thoughts.</p><p>Hana felt annoyance bubble in her chest, “oh yeah, now I suddenly feel a whole lot better, thanks” Hana quipped, sarcastically.</p><p>The hacker’s violet eyes focused on Hana, “listen,” her eyes narrowed as she shifted forward, attempting to place a hand on Hana’s shoulder, only to hesitate when the pilot flinched, “... listen, <em>chica</em>, I know it’s hard to stay calm, but you have to. I’m going to need you to watch my back and help me out if we want to get out of here, you need to stay sharp.”</p><p>Hana stared into stern violet eyes, the way Sombra’s eyebrows furrowed reminded her of Jack, stern but almost as if pleading. The anger in her melted away, revealing the anxiety it tried to coat as a coping mechanism. She took a long shaky breath, “I understand.”</p><p>Sombra nodded, “<em>bueno</em>, just wait, I’ll let you know when to move, okay?”</p><p>Hana nodded in return, “okay.” Despite the anxiety that threatened to flip her stomach inside out, she stopped fidgeting and instead focused on her breathing.</p><p>It wasn’t soon after that Sombra must’ve heard something, she raised her hand and gestured to Hana to back away. The pilot obliged, slowly and quietly shifting away from the door before she heard the metal mechanisms that kept it locked click and whine. She swallowed hard, her eyes meeting Sombra’s for just a moment. She said nothing, but those violet irises spoke a million words as they both nodded to one another just as the door swung open.</p><p>In walked two Talon lackeys, who didn’t have time to register their predicament as the two girls pounced. Sombra reached out with her hand, her long thin fingers wrapping around the guard’s neck as the other hand covered his mouth. She swiftly placed her foot behind his and shoved her weight into his throat, instantly robbing him off his balance and stifling his supply of air as his back slammed onto the concrete floor, Sombra landing gracefully above him, and continuing to apply pressure to his throat.</p><p>Hana on the other hand leapt onto the other guard, slamming her body against his and using her thin limbs to cling onto his torso, using all her weight to force him onto the ground. With the added weight and the inability to use his arms the guard’s skull cracked against the pavement, but despite the heavy concussion did not lose consciousness. Hana panicked, running on instinct and adrenaline, she slugged him with repeated punches to the head until he stopped moving.</p><p>Just as she was about to slam another fist into the man’s bruised cheek a hand caught her wrist. Hana’s head snapped to Sombra to find astonished violet eyes. The pilot blinked and looked down to her own bloody knuckles then to the bruised face of the guard. Hana paused, she could see the slight rise and fall of his chest, she hadn’t killed him, but she had left his face so beaten that he hardly looked human.</p><p>She was then ripped away from her thoughts as Sombra pulled her up onto her feet, “<em>Chica</em>, look at me.” Hana turned to the hacker, her grip on the pilot’s wrist firm but gentle, almost as if she was scared Hana would shatter like an old mirror, “we’re going to get out of here.”</p><p>Hana bit her lip. The same violet eyes she had seen in her dreams, the same ones that haunted her, that seemed so ingrained into the back of her brain stared into her own. They were the spark that began to light the smolders in her gut, the fire that she had fought so hard to keep, the fight in her that was so close to being snuffed out. They <em>would</em> get out of here, there was no other possibility she would accept.</p><p>She nodded as she squared her shoulders, she felt Sombra’s hand slip away as she turned to exit through the door. Hana looked down at the two unconscious guards, now realizing that they had been tricked into opening the door for them. Sombra must have sent a false directive through their electronic systems, and that’s why she had been waiting so patiently.</p><p>What annoyed Hana was why Sombra hadn’t just told her that beforehand, but she came to an epiphany as she followed Sombra out their chamber and into the dark labyrinthian hallways. The hacker probably was used to not explaining her plan to anyone, used to keeping things close to her chest as she had grown accustomed to working alone.</p><p>Sombra’s footsteps were virtually silent, something Hana failed to imitate as her bare feet clumsily sifted through the dirt on the concrete. Being stealthy was never Hana’s strong suit, and it seemed Sombra had caught on to that as she looked over her shoulder back to the pilot.</p><p>Sombra paused for a moment as she whispered back to Hana, “just put your feet where I’ve stepped.”</p><p>It was a simple premise, but Hana was surprised on how effective it was, her steps were suddenly much quieter if not a bit awkward. She had to focus to make sure her placement was as close as accurate as could be, occasionally looking up to see how Sombra was doing it without much thought and much more proficiently.</p><p>Though as much as Hana was focusing on remaining quiet, she accidentally bumped into Sombra, finding that the hacker had suddenly stopped. Sombra glanced back with an annoyed look, only for Hana to shoot back a glare, “why are we stopping?” Hana asked as she crossed her arms.</p><p>Sombra brought her finger up to her own lips, and instead pointed around the corner. Hana rolled her eyes and checked to see what Sombra was motioning to. Another door, much different than the one that had been used to imprison them. It was still made of metal, but it was polished and sleek, with a small square window that illuminated a bit of dull red light that was commonly used in Talon operated installations.</p><p>Again Sombra had not disclosed her plan whatsoever, so Hana had no clue what was on the other side of that door but it didn’t matter now. She had to place her trust in Sombra and hope to all that is good that her undisclosed plan was foolproof.</p><p>So she simply leaned back and gave another nod to Sombra, the hacker nodded back before creeping past the corner. Once they reached the door Sombra waved open her holographic keys, strings of violet light instantly reaching forward and latching onto the computerized locking systems of the door just under the handle. While she did so Hana turned around and kept watch, choosing to focus on distant noises that echoed through the halls rather than peeking around the corner and risk getting spotted. She stared forward, but her mind taking note of what she heard, distant voices, talking, orders and the steady clanking of boots against metal which slowly grew in volume. She swallowed hard and decided to peek around the bend, just to double check that there were in fact people coming.</p><p>Down the hall Hana noticed shadows painted on the wall, two guards seemed to be making their way to their location, though they seemed to be on patrol as they were only walking. The pilot turned and tapped Sombra’s shoulder, making the hacker peek over her shoulder, her eyes suddenly becoming a tad more frantic.</p><p>Hana watched as Sombra sped the process up, but something seemed off, Sombra’s hacking skills were usually much quicker than this, her typing seemed sluggish compared to the times Hana had seen before. It dawned on her that Sombra’s luminescent nails were not only gone, but had been pried off, and somehow they seemed to affect Sombra’s capabilities.</p><p>The pilot’s breathing picked up pace as she wondered if Sombra would be able to open the door in time. It was clear Hana was nowhere near as experienced in hand to hand combat as Sombra, and despite the few times Jack had tried to train her she never stuck to his regiment, she never thought she’d be without her MEKA or light gun, what a fool she had been. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she assumed the fighting stance Jack had taught her, at least of what she could remember.</p><p>As the guard’s footsteps grew louder she found the anxiety in her chest rise. She barely managed to knock out one before, she had no clue how she would manage two while also doing her best to protect Sombra. The best she could potentially manage was to buy time.</p><p>Just as Hana was about to pounce on the approaching Talon lackeys she felt a hand grip her upper arm and yank her back. She was pulled into the room as the door quietly slid shut between her and the approaching guards.</p><p>She let out a shaky breath as she heard their footsteps fade away. She turned to the room she had been pulled into. The red lights that filled the room had been from the computers and monitors that lined the walls, multiple screens detailing information that Hana couldn’t wrap her head around. Sombra moved to the far side of the room, where a strange synthetic plate had been hooked up with a variety of wires. Hana watched as the hacker paused and stared at the disc, a sight that puzzled the pilot.</p><p>She walked up next to Sombra, looking up to her somber expression as her violet eyes stared intently at the plate. Hana looked back down at the object, she knew what it was, but somehow looking at it now she could see why Sombra was acting so strangely. Such a destructive force that could potentially wipe all of humanity off the planet in such a small and portable disc. You could literally hold the end of the world in your palm.</p><p>So Hana did so Sombra wouldn’t have to. She reached down and grabbed a wire, looking to Sombra’s reaction. The hacker’s eyes widened, Hana could see so much behind those violet eyes in that one moment, primarily guilt, but it was quickly masked. Sombra gave her another nod so Hana began ripping off the wires from the device.</p><p>Eventually all the wires had been removed and Hana held the plate in her hand, she braced herself for an alarm to start wailing, but found only the distant sounds of orders being called out deep down the labyrinthian halls.</p><p>She turned to Sombra who only shrugged, “I already checked to see if they had a failsafe, but I guess <em>los pendejos</em> got over confident.”</p><p>Hana gave the disc another bewildered glance before turning towards the door. No time to contemplate, they had to take every blessing they could get. They swiftly exited the room, the door silently down from the ceiling as they exited. Sombra peaked her head into the hallway before turning back to Hana.</p><p>”Okay, this is our chance, <em>chica</em>” She stepped towards the pilot and patted Hana’s upper arm, as she did so she brought up her holograms beside them, pointing to a string of text that served as a digital clock, “their shift change happens in two minutes. When that happens you’re going to have to trust me and run as fast as you can, do you understand?”</p><p>Hana swallowed as Sombra faced her, it was almost she could see Sombra’s thoughts racing through her violet eyes. They remained focused on the pilot, her expression stoic, but Hana could feel something, almost as if her head were an ocean held back by a concrete dam, a dam that was cracking. But the hacker was enigmatic, Hana never knew if the things she noticed about her were real or if her mind was sick and twisted.</p><p>She placed her hand over Sombra’s as she felt the fire in her rise, “I got it.”</p><p>Sombra’s eyes widened for a moment as they darted to the physical touch, only to just as quickly turn to the clock on her holograms, “good.” It was then the hacker shifted the placement of her hand down to Hana’s wrist, pulling her along as they raced through the halls. Hana didn’t know how Sombra knew where she was headed, her hologram had dissipated as soon as they began running so she had no map to look at.</p><p>Yet without any guide, Sombra knew exactly every turn she had to take, though eventually she paused to push Hana against a wall as a couple of guards walked by unaware. Instead of wasting precious seconds to signal Hana to hug the wall the hacker instead had used her own body to push Hana. The pilot’s thoughts raced with confused anger, to realize they had almost been spotted, to feeling butterflies begin to flutter from the depths of her gut.</p><p>Their proximity shifted Hana’s senses into hyperdrive, somehow making her already speeding heart beat faster as she felt Sombra’s torso against hers. The coarse sandpaper like rags that they adorned rubbing against her made Sombra’s skin against her own feel almost silky smooth in comparison. The hacker’s attention was elsewhere as her eyes darted around them, but she kept her head still, her breath against Hana’s neck giving her goosebumps.</p><p>It made the pilot’s head spin. She had to fight the sudden urge to both push the hacker away and pull her in closer. She felt her fingers twitch as she swallowed hard, but before her body could move on it’s own Sombra pushed away from the wall and scanned their surroundings.</p><p>Just like that, the spell Hana had been pulled under was suddenly lifted. She was filled with mixed emotions, bewildered by her body’s response before chastising herself for getting distracted now of all times. Her head was cloudy and she just chalked it up to getting it’s wires crossed after everything she had to go through. Maybe her body didn’t know good from bad anymore.</p><p>Sombra turned and signalled to Hana to follow, which she obliged, but this time she made sure to keep a distance. She didn’t know what caused that response, but if Sombra’s touch had sparked it, she had to be careful, she couldn’t get distracted.</p><p>Though the conflicting emotions that swirled inside her were overshadowed as Hana heard a strange steady rumble, a familiar noise that she hadn’t heard in a while. She heard the steady fall of rain outside. Hana felt new emotions rise in her chest, she had to fight back tears as she realized they were so close to the outside world. Both Hana and Sombra picked up the pace, it was last stretch.</p><p>Sombra had seemed to find the absolute perfect moment for their escape, made evident as they exited the installation and out into the heavy jungle rain. The small lot they ran across had been left empty save for a few unmanned heavy artillery units. The teeming jungle growth just outside the tall fences served as perfect cover from any cameras as well as.</p><p>The feeling elation was suddenly dropped into a vat of worry as Hana ran into Sombra, who had stopped, “hey what the-” Hana almost choked as she realized why the hacker stopped dead in her tracks.</p><p>Something Sombra hadn’t accounted for was the fact that Talon had seemingly left their monstrous pet outside. The same that had caused them both so much torment loomed next to the gate it had been chained next to. It’s shoulders slumped as it stared at the floor, somber and seemingly abandoned.</p><p>Suddenly it’s gas mask raised, deep black circles where its eyes should be stared at the two. Almost as if flipped by a switch it became violent, thrashing against it’s restraints. Hana turned to Sombra, “W-what do we do?”</p><p>The hacker was tense as her stare remained squarely on the thrashing beast, “I don’t know.”</p><p>Hana’s eyes widened, an answer she wasn’t ready to hear. She looked around, trying to find anything that would help. The rain obscured the black asphalt as the cracks in the ground were filled with water and oil. There was nothing.</p><p>She felt a hand on her arm, only to turn to Sombra who’s violet eyes were horrified. Hana turned to find as the monster yanked an arm forward, in the process breaking one of his chains and using it’s now free hand to rip off the rest of his restraints. His voice gurgled through the cascade of rain as he stepped forward. Hana could feel the ground shake underneath her with every stomp he took.</p><p>Her instincts kicked in as she smacked Sombra’s shoulder, “split up!” She yelled as she dashed away from the hacker, her foot slipped against the wet concrete but she caught herself before falling on her face, pushing off the ground and regaining her balance as she began sprinting.</p><p>She turned to look over her shoulder and found that Sombra followed her instruction as she ran the opposite direction. It left the monster confused for a brief moment, but eventually it decided to focus its attention on Hana, making a beeline to the pilot.</p><p>”Fuck fuck fuck,” Hana cursed under her breath as she ran toward the closest unmanned heavy artillery vehicle. She yanked on the door to force it open, but it had been locked. She felt it approaching with every stomp so instead she began scrambling on top of the vehicle. The sleek black metal was slippery from the rain, but she somehow managed to climb on top just in time as the monster slammed straight into it, forcing the entire vehicle rock back and forth almost making Hana slip off.</p><p>”Hey <em>pinche pendejo</em>!” Hana raised her head to find Sombra standing a healthy distance away from the monstrous brute. In her hands she brandished a bit of the chains which had been used as its restraints. With all the strength she could muster she brought the chain over her head and swinging it forward, making the metal crack against the monster’s back like a whip.</p><p>Hana’s eyes were wide, she was baffled. Angela had told her stories of people who had performed great acts of strengths under the effects of adrenaline, but to see Sombra, who wasn’t much taller than she was, use heavy chains as a whip was surprising to say the least.</p><p>The monster’s scream of pain pierced their ears. A gurgling shriek akin to a pig being slaughtered, but somehow gruffer and much more infernal. It turned around to face Sombra and let Hana see the deep gash wound that had ripped through it’s uniform, the surrounding skin a deep red, the gash had also left some of it’s bone exposed.</p><p>The pilot watched as blood dripped from the monster’s back. She began to feel a deep primal fear rise within her. Fear that coursed through her veins almost like ice. Memories flashed through her skull, she had seen similar injuries. Injuries clearly made of metal ripping through flesh and bone.</p><p>A warping and all consuming darkness began to encroach from the edges of her vision. The cold fear in her veins freezing her still and keeping her from moving. Her lungs struggled to breath properly as she began hyperventilating, losing more oxygen by the second as she began to feel panic take her.</p><p>”D.va!” The pilot could hear Sombra’s call, but it was muddled, almost as if she were underwater again, deep under the ocean’s surface, “D.va help! C’mon <em>chica</em>”</p><p>Hana struggled to breathe, to move, to even see properly. It was like Busan all over again, but this time she couldn’t move because of injury, or due to the ocean’s grip on her, but the fear in her heart that seemed to snuff out the flame in her eyes.</p><p>”D.va, I really need you!” Sombra called once more, panic evident in her voice, “<em>Hana, please</em>!”</p><p>It was almost as if Sombra’s plea had somehow silenced the cacophony of noise. For a moment the sound of rain stopped as memories flashed through the pilot’s mind. Tracer’s soothing words, Jack’s stern but fair scoldings, Mercy’s reassuring hugs, Zenyatta’s calm advice.</p><p>Zarya’s words rang through Hana’s mind, <em>“do not say it when you are D.va, say it when you are Hana Song.”</em></p><p>
  <em>”They’re literally the same person Zar”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>”That is where you are wrong zaika. They are whole world apart.”</em>
</p><p>It had been the first time Sombra had called her Hana, that meant the hacker didn’t need some kind of noteworthy hero, or a prized pilot of a MEKA unit, she just needed Hana Song. She just needed the dumb girl who was having a panic attack on top of a tank to get up and <em>do something</em></p><p>Hana felt the fire in her burn brighter than before, and for a moment there was no weight of the world on her shoulders, or the fear that had riddled her before. There was nothing outside of the girl she needed to save, and the dumb brute in their way.</p><p>She slid down from the top of the artillery unit and landed on her feet. The large dent the monster had left in the metal had caused some of the fortified armor sheets to splinter off. She picked up a large piece of sharp bent metal before sprinting forward faster than her legs had ever carried her before.</p><p>The monster had grabbed sombra by the throat, lifting her up into the air, letting her legs dangle as she tried in vain to rip its hand away from her throat. Hana leapt onto the monstrous man’s back, wrapping one arm around it’s throat as she used her other arm to sink the metal shard into its bicep while she dug her knee into the gash in it’s back.</p><p>The monster screeched before dropping Sombra who fell onto the concrete, coughing violently as she tried to catch her breath. Though before Hana could check to see if the hacker was okay the monster began to flailing erratically, bucking wildly like a bull.</p><p>Despite the rain and blood, Hana somehow managed to stay on. She dug her foot into the gash in its back for stability as she yanked the metal from the arm that had almost crushed Sombra’s windpipe. Its hand tried to swat Hana off of its back, but instead Hana grabbed its wrist to yank back. The adrenaline in her system must have given her a burst in strength as she heard its arm crack and snap, dislocating its shoulder as she pulled the arm further back than it should.</p><p>In another swift motion she brought the shard of metal over her head and slammed it into the monster’s throat. The metal pierced the skin of its neck, it’s voice becoming more gargled as it shrieked in pain. Before the beast could move any further Hana slammed her fist into the metal shard which sliced her knuckles but in turn sinked further into the monster’s throat. She heard a sickly crack before it’s gurgles ceased.</p><p>As the beast fell onto its knees and eventually to the floor Hana leapt off and landed on the concrete. She watched as the last shreds of life left the body, it’s lungs probably being filled with blood and rain as it struggled to breath. Its arm no longer moving and bent unnaturally, it’s giant and injured muscles which occasionally twitched.</p><p>Suddenly a hand was placed on her shoulder and she was snapped out of her trance. The sound of rain hitting concrete filled her ears, as well as a distant siren. She could taste and smell blood, and suddenly the strain she had put on her body began to catch up with her.</p><p>She turned to find bewildered violet eyes, “c’mon we have to go, <em>chica</em>.” Sombra grabbed her wrist as she pulled her toward the gate.</p><p>Hana nodded numbly as they ran up to the gate. The paused for a moment for Sombra to summon her holograms and began hacking into the automated gate’s technology. The moment was brief but it gave enough time for Hana to look back at the beast she had defeated. It’s large corpse lay motionless on the concrete, mangled and bloody, like some poor roadkill.</p><p>She heard the gate shift open as she was pulled into the deep brush of the jungle. Sombra spoke up, “damn, <em>chica</em>, I didn’t know you had it in you.”</p><p>”You knew my name?” Was the only words Hana could respond with.</p><p>Sombra’s eyes widened for a moment, her cheeks flushing pink, as if that of all things had made her feel embarrassed, “I did.”</p><p>”Oh,” Hana still felt numb, but somehow her tired legs still carried her as they pushed through the heavy foliage, Sombra somehow still knowing where to go. She a small smirk tug at her lips, “creepo.”</p><p>Sombra peeked over her shoulder and scoffed, “whatever we’ll talk about it later, let’s just get as far away from her as possible.”</p><p>The pilot chuckled softly to herself, “sounds good to me.”</p><p>She still heard the sound of rain and a siren that seemed to get further and further away with every second. It had been the first time in a long time she had smelled fresh air, and it kept her going. Well… Sombra’s calloused but yet gentle hand gripped around her wrist seemed to also give her a bit more energy.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Olivia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again everybody! I'm getting back into the flow of things, I want to update as often as I can and keep the ball rolling. Please forgive me if I lose my momentum, but I'm happy to bring more as fast as I can, reasonably of course. I hope all of you are holding out well, and I also hope you'll enjoy reading. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my story, it means a lot. See you all soon.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were no more walls, no burning concrete, no coal black artillery, no confinement, no more silence. Instead the dirt under Sombra’s feet was soft, the air cool as heavy foliage kept the sun’s rays at bay yet still humid from the rain that had now passed. There was no horizon yet, the plant life was so dense and tall that Sombra couldn’t see more than fifteen feet ahead of her, not that she was looking that far ahead anyway as she had to watch where she was placing her feet while shoving away leaves and branches from her face.</p><p>The hacker stepped onto a large tree root that stuck out of the floor before climbing onto another that wrapped over a waist high tall boulder. She took a moment to catch her breath before turning to find D.v- to find Hana close behind. Her soft brown eyes stared intently on the floor to watch where to place her bare feet while she wrapped her arms around herself in attempts to either keep herself warm or soothe herself.</p><p>Eventually she stepped onto the first root only to look up and find that the hacker had been staring at her. She quickly shot Sombra an annoyed look, “what are you staring for?”</p><p>Sombra rolled her eyes as she reached her hand out, “I was waiting to help you up.”</p><p>The pilot glanced down at Sombra’s hand, hesitating for a moment before reaching out and grasping it, letting the hacker pull her up with her, “do you even know where you’re going?”</p><p>Sombra sighed as Hana gained some footing and stood on the same root, their hands still grasped to keep either from falling, “away from there.” She muttered to Hana before dropping down on the other side of the rock to advance.</p><p>”So you don’t even know where you’re going?” Hana asked with an accusing tone, she quickly dropped down to catch up to the hacker, speaking as they walked, “you’re lost! You don’t even know where we are!”</p><p>Sombra’s hands balled into fists, if she still had her nails they would have easily dug into her own flesh, “chill out.”</p><p>”How am I supposed to ‘chill out’ when were lost in a fucking jungle!?” Hana raised her voice.</p><p>The hacker instantly whipped around and placed a hand on the pilot’s mouth, “shh!” Sombra then looked around, quietly waiting for any sign of life. Once satisfied she dropped her hand from Hana’s mouth and grabbed her by the shoulders, “listen, <em>chica</em>, like you said we’re in a fucking jungle, you have to stay quiet or we’re going to be dealing with shit that’s gonna want to eat you.”</p><p>Hana’s eyes widened, she swallowed before checking over her shoulder. “Okay fine,” her voice was noticeably quieter, “but what are gonna do?” She turned back to Sombra, worry evident in her soft brown eyes.</p><p>Sombra sighed again as she stepped back, she brought a hand up to her forehead, “we’re in a rainforest, <em>chica</em>. That means we can be on any continent on or near the equator.”</p><p>”So?” The pilot raised an eyebrow.</p><p>”So,” Sombra brought up her holograms, they were significantly less bright to remain stealthy, on them she showed a map of the globe, “we’re anywhere where it’s dark green on this map.” The hacker pointed to three key continents, South America, Africa, and Indonesia as well as the surrounding islands.</p><p>”Okay…” Hana glanced on the map before turning back to Sombra, “so if we found out, what do we do then?”</p><p>Sombra glanced over to Hana for a moment. She hesitated on whether to share more information or not. Overwatch was still considered her enemy, and like any criminal they wouldn’t hesitate to detain her if they got the chance.</p><p>The pilot’s brow furrowed as she punched Sombra’s shoulder, causing her to wince, “ow- what the fuck <em>chica</em>?”</p><p>”Tell me,” Hana’s soft brown eyes were vibrant with adamant flames despite how tired and malnourished the rest of her features were.</p><p>Sombra hesitated for a moment, ”what do you mean-”</p><p>”Don’t give me that bull,” Hana cut her off, “I get it, you work alone or whatever, but right now you’re not alone. I didn’t have time to tell you off when we were escaping, but you have to tell me if you want me to be able to help.”</p><p>Sombra stared at Hana’s determined stare. A part of her wanted to relent, to let her in on her plans, it would alleviate some stress from her shoulders, but a bigger part of her wanted to keep everything to herself, like she always had, like she needed to, to survive.</p><p>Hana crossed her arms, damn girl was stubborn. Sombra huffed, “fine,” she imputed a few commands into her holograms which revealed several dots across the map, though only ones centered near rainforests, “these are my hideouts I’ve left around just for times like these.”</p><p>”Times when you get captured and tortured?” Hana interjected with a raised brow.</p><p>”You can never be too careful, <em>chica</em>” Sombra then pointed toward the available hide outs, “we just need to find out which jungle we’re in and then get to the nearest hideout.”</p><p>Hana stared at the map for a moment, “how are we gonna find out which one we’re in?”</p><p>Sombra flicked her hand, shifting her screens from the map to images of multiple different kinds of animals, “every jungle has its own native animals, we just gotta find one of these and that’ll clue us in.”</p><p>The pilot’s soft brown eyes scanned through the pictures of animals before landing square on a specific species of bear, a small smile appeared on her face as she pointed to it, “that bear looks like it’s got glasses.”</p><p>Sombra couldn’t help but chuckle, “yeah, that’s why they’re called spectacled bears.”</p><p>The hacker heard Hana giggle to herself so faintly that she almost mistook it for a distant bird call.</p><p>Rustling in the nearby brush instantly robbed the air of it’s levity. Sombra instantly flicked away her holograms as they both scanned their environment. They listened for a long tense moment, waiting for anything to come crashing through the foliage at any moment, though it never came as they were left in silence save for a few indistinguishable animal noises in the far distance.</p><p>Sombra turned to Hana, “first we gotta find someone where to hide. Right now we just need to focus on survival.”</p><p>Hana only nodded in response as they picked up their pace and began wading through the plant life.</p><p>Sombra had grown the necessary skills to move through any terrain silently. Her technical know-how as well as her stealth technology could only do so much. Only an ammateur would rely solely on one skill in her line of work, even if her stealth holograms did dampen any noise she made, her current predicament proved that there were times that her inventions would fail her.</p><p>Whatever they had drilled into her neck must have fried some of her neurotech. Her stealth program wouldn’t boot properly, the internal system was slower than she was used to, and her long distance capabilities didn’t function properly either. Once they were in the embrace of the jungle shadows she had attempted to call an aircraft to pick them up, but she guessed it never received the command. First chance she could get she’d have to get her neurotech a tune up.</p><p>Unfortunately for as skilled as Sombra was at making as little noise as possible, it seemed as though Hana was making more than enough noise for the two of them. Every twig the hacker avoided, the girl behind her would somehow loudly snap. She heard how her limbs would brush against the foliage, and how her feet would sift through the dirt.</p><p>Eventually Sombra couldn’t take it anymore as she stopped and turned, “<em>no mames</em>, could you be <em>any</em> quieter?”</p><p>Hana stopped in her tracks, her surprised quickly turning into anger, “excuse me?”</p><p>The hacker huffed, “you’re making to much noise, I need you to be quieter.”</p><p>”Oh yeah sure,” the pilot crossed her arms, “thanks for reminding me, I’ll just use my years of stealth training now.” Her tone was quiet, but her sarcasm was loud.</p><p>Sombra sighed, “okay, <em>chica</em>, I get it.” She moved closer to Hana before lowering on one knee and pointing to her back with her thumb, “here get on.”</p><p>”What?” Hana hesitated.</p><p>”Just get on,” Sombra looked up to Hana’s soft brown eyes, “I’ll still be quieter even if I’m carrying you.”</p><p>Hana let out another scoff, only to relent when Sombra didn’t back down, “okay whatever.”</p><p>As the pilot climbed onto Sombra’s back she felt her arms brush against her neck, the hacker winced, “careful with the drill holes.”</p><p>”Right,” Hana shifted to keep her arms away from Sombra’s neck, “sorry.”</p><p>Sombra stood and found that Hana was shockingly light. The thought worried Sombra as the girl wasn’t very much shorter than she was and was somehow incredibly easy to lift. She pushed that thought away for now, both of them are more than certainly malnourished after what they had gone through. They’ll just have to get out of here.</p><p>Just like Sombra had proclaimed, with Hana on her shoulders they were much quieter if not just a tad slower. During this time Sombra could feel Hana’s breaths on her neck, which she fought to ignore, but it inevitably made her body shiver involuntarily.</p><p>”Are you cold?” As Hana whispered Sombra could feel her breath on her ear.</p><p>Something cracked under Sombra’s foot, she looked down to find a broken twig she somehow missed, “no, I’m fine.”</p><p>They were left in silence for a few seconds as Sombra regained her focus on her foot placement. “Then why’d you shiver?” The pilot’s soft voice cut swiftly through Sombra’s train of thought.</p><p>”Because-” the hacker’s foot then slipped off a rock, almost causing both of them to fall over.</p><p>”Sombra!” Hana gasped as her grip on the hacker tightened. Her arms wrapped around Sombra’s neck, cutting off her air supply and making Sombra wince as Hana disturbed the injuries on her neck</p><p>Once Sombra found her footing she seethed with the annoyance that had been building up during their entire trek through the jungle, “<em>chica</em>.” Anger seeped through her teeth, “get off.”</p><p>”Wha-”</p><p>”I said,” the annoyance burning in her gut finally burst into flame, “get off!” She ripped off Hana’s grip from around her neck, robbing the pilot of her balance as she fell backwards onto the ground.</p><p>”<em>Ay</em>-!” Hana crashed onto the dirt and hissed in pain, “hey what the fuck was that for!?”</p><p>Sombra turned and pointed an accusatory finger, “<em>no me hables asi idiota</em>, I told you get off me, but you couldn’t help but just try and choke me out could you?”</p><p>”What the fuck are you talking about?” Hana pushed off the ground and stomped over to Sombra, her soft brown eyes defiant, “I wasn’t the one who almost dropped us both!”</p><p>”I wouldn’t have to carry you in the first place if you weren’t so loud, I swear you’d alert the whole fucking jungle with how you were stomping around!”</p><p>A nearby growl silenced their squabbling, their heads snapped over to the source of the noise. A large orange spotted panther stepped closer, it’s large paws stepping silently on branches as it’s narrow slit eyes stared them down.</p><p>”Oh fuck.” Hana muttered.</p><p>The hacker kept her body facing the large feline that stalked around them as she scanned their nearby area, “Hana, I need you to listen to me.”</p><p>”Do I have any other choice?” Hana quipped back, imitating Sombra’s actions, making sure to not turn her back to the animal.</p><p>”Just listen.” Sombra kept a hand up to make herself seem bigger than she is while reaching down to grab a large rock, “I want you to run when I say so.”</p><p>”What? What about you? I can’t just leave you.” Hana exclaimed as her eyes flicked worriedly between the hacker and the panther.</p><p>Sombra stood up straight, gripping onto the rock with both hands, “just trust me.”</p><p>The hacker’s eyes briefly glanced over to Hana who bit her lip before nodding, “okay okay, I trust you.”</p><p>Sombra swallowed a lump down her throat, she then raised the rock over her head, “now!”</p><p>In a matter of seconds Hana turned on her heel and dashed away from the feline. The panther acted on instinct and dashed after her, attempting to pounce the pilot as soon as she turned her back, but before it could get the chance Sombra leapt onto the panther. Using her body weight to knock it over before landing on it, bringing down the rock onto it’s head.</p><p>Though before the rock could smash against the animal’s skull, it’s large paw swiped up, slicing through Sombra’s arm and forcing her to drop the rock. She yelped in pain as the panther knocked her off and onto the dirt.</p><p>The hacker froze as the large cat’s eyes turned to her, it’s pupils narrowed into sharp slips as it got ready to leap. “Sombra!” Hana’s voice distracted the feline just long enough for the pilot to run up from behind and jump onto the panther’s back. It hissed as it bucked wildly before finally attempting to roll on the jungle floor to get Hana off it’s back</p><p>Their scramble gave Sombra just enough time to regain her bearings. She shoved off the floor and scrambled over to the rock she had dropped. Her own vibrant red blood made it stick out against the dark green and brown jungle floor. She grabbed it before turning to find that the panther now had Hana backed up against a tree.</p><p>”Hana!” Sombra yelled as she rushed over, bringing the rock over her own head before slamming it down on the panther’s head with as much force as her arms could manage. The panther yelped and hissed as it backed away. It hadn’t been enough to render unconscious, but blood pooled from the top of it’s head and onto the dirt.</p><p>The wild cat growled once more, it’s eyes frantic as it tried to keep both girls in it’s vision. Realizing it had lost it’s advantage it began to slowly backpedal.</p><p>Hana crouched down to grab a small stick, “fuck off!” She threw it toward the panther, it weakly landed in the dirt in front of the creature, but it seemed to have gotten the message as it quickly turned tail and ran back into the brush.</p><p>Once gone the two were left to themselves. Sombra winced, she looked down to the slash wound on her arm, if Sombra hadn’t known better she would have thought her arm had caught flame by how badly it stung.</p><p>”Oh shit,” Hana approached the hacker, her eyes centered on the arm. “Sombra-”</p><p>”I’m fine,” Sombra cut her off, trying to dismiss Hana’s worry as she turned away.</p><p>Hana grabbed onto Sombra’s shirt to stop her from walking away, “you’re not okay, that’s too much blood.”</p><p>Sombra huffed as she tried to pull away from Hana’s grasp ”<em>chica</em>, I’m-”</p><p>”Gonna help me treat that.” Sombra paused as she met Hana’s stubborn expression, “if you bleed out we’re not gonna make it out.”</p><p>The hacker paused for a moment before reassessing her wound. Blood had been spilling from her arm and onto the floor and as the panic in her system began to fade the more nauseous she felt,”ugh fine.”</p><p>Sombra waved open her holograms only to wince as she used the injured arm. She pushed through the pain to scour through her on person database, “alright, if we can find these plants we can forge a makeshift bandage.”</p><p>Hana flashed the hacker a weird look, “you just have this information on you?”</p><p>”<em>No manches chica</em>, talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.” Sombra chided.</p><p>”I just-” Hana sighed, “whatever, just tell me what to look for.”</p><p>Sombra reached to her holograms with her good arm and enlarged the images of the plants she needed, “something like this should work well enough.”</p><p>Hana stared at the images for a moment, “how do you know that these will be here?”</p><p>Sombra looked down to Hana, who matched her glance, “I don’t.”</p><p>The pilot visibly swallowed, “guess I’ll go look-”</p><p>”Actually,” Sombra waved away her holograms, “we need to get somewhere safe first, and hopefully find something to help along the way. The longer we’re out here the more of a chance we have of running into something worse.”</p><p>Hana took in a shaky breath but nodded, “fine, but I’m gonna go find something to use as a bandage first chance we get.”</p><p>Sombra chuckled as she looked up at the light that peaked through the trees, the sky was darkening, “sounds like a certain someone is worried about me.”</p><p>Hana crossed her arms, “don’t push it, you’re literally my only way out of here.”</p><p>Sombra shrugged as she stepped away, “c’mon, we have to get moving.”</p><p>As they walked a silence settled between them. Neither talked as they maneuvered through the jungle, Hana was still very clumsy when it came to the noise she made with every step, but she was somehow quickly getting better. Sombra heard a nearby bird call which meant that whatever noise Hana was making wasn’t loud enough to alert the immediate wildlife, which calmed Sombra’s nerves some.</p><p>As they moved forward she found herself making more noise than she was used to, her feet would shuffle through dead leaves and mulch that would occasionally squelch under her weight. It frustrated her as she felt she couldn’t focus quite as well as before. Occasionally Hana’s eyes would flicker worriedly over to Sombra, glances that the hacker ignored.</p><p>The girl was right to be worried, she felt herself becoming weaker by the moment, but they had to keep moving and find somewhere relatively safe enough to actually settle down and take their time treating the injury. For now she pressed her arm against her shirt, hoping that whatever harsh fabric it was would soak up enough of the blood to not leave a trail for any hungry predators.</p><p>Sombra tried to step over another tree root only for her foot to get caught, she lost her balance and began to fall face forwards. She closed her eyes and reached out with her good arm to catch herself, only to feel a pair of arms wrap around her torso, stopping her from slamming onto the dirty forest floor.</p><p>”<em>Ah-ssi</em>-” Hana huffed as she helped Sombra regain her footing, wrapping the hacker’s good arm around her shoulders for stability, “you’re fine, huh?”</p><p>Sombra rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smirk, the blood loss must have been getting to her, “fine as hell, <em>chica</em>, don’t you forget.”</p><p>Hana’s laugh caught the hacker off guard, “just keep walking.”</p><p>As prideful Sombra was, she didn’t have the energy in her to refuse the pilot’s help. Together they kept moving forward, their footsteps were a bit noisy now as Sombra had to focus just to not throw off Hana’s balance. The girl was stubborn, but the hacker could tell that it wouldn’t take much to knock Hana over, the pilot had been through a lot and somehow she was right by the hacker’s side keeping them both standing.</p><p>It left Sombra with a sense of anxiety. Was she relying on the girl too much? As much as she wanted to act like she had everything under control she wouldn’t have made it this far without the pilot’s help. She knew she couldn’t get used to it, soon she’d be on her own again, as she always had been, she couldn’t rely on others forever.</p><p>”What are we even looking for?” Hana asked, disrupting Sombra’s train of thought.</p><p>Sombra took a labored breath, “something that’ll hide us but won’t have any wildlife in it, like a shallow cave or something-”</p><p>”Something like that?” Hana stopped and pointed ahead.</p><p>Sombra raised her head to find a small alcove that Hana had lead them to, “yeah, exactly like that.</p><p>They picked up the pace to enter their temporary shelter. The rock walls had moss and the stone floor was cool, there was enough foliage around them that served as suitable cover from predators and Talon scouts. Once inside Hana slowly set Sombra down against the stone, the hacker groaned as she looked down to her arm. Her shirt was drenched in sweat and profuse amounts of blood, it made her feel even more nauseous.</p><p>”I’ll go find something just- just stay put.” Hana’s eyebrows were etched with worry, her soft brown eyes anxious.</p><p>Sombra scoffed, “like I could even get up, <em>mensa</em>.”</p><p>Hana rolled her eyes, but her annoyance was feigned. Sombra knew that the girl was keeping to a sense of normalcy to stay level headed, a commendable feat that Hana was surprisingly talented at. It almost seemed like the girl could bounce back from nearly anything.</p><p>Sombra was left alone, fighting the drowsiness that threatened to take her. She stared out the entrance of the alcove, the distant sky slowly turning a dark blue as day turned to night. With the first sign of night a sudden sense of guilt filled Sombra’s gut. All of this had been her fault, she had given those Talon bastards exactly what they wanted while also putting Hana in the thick of it.She had been so proud of being a free agent and doing whatever she wanted that she hadn’t taken into account that she had been walking right into their trap.</p><p>Luckily now she had the egg and incubator, stolen right from under Talon’s nose. She reached over on her person to grab the disc only to panic when she couldn’t find it. She began to frantically pat herself down only to freeze as the disc landed on her lap.</p><p>”Is that what you’re looking for?” The hacker looked up to find Hana pushing past the plants that covered the entrance of their alcove, in her arms she had found a multitude of leaves and berries, “I didn’t exactly know what was good or bad so I grabbed them all.”</p><p>Sombra blinked, stunned for a moment before flicking her wrist and bringing up her screens, “we can sift through the berries later, just set them over there. For now just follow the instructions on the screen.” She pointed toward the survival graphics that she had pulled up.</p><p>”I know how to make a bandage.” Hana, as stubborn as always, completely disregarded the holograms and continued to deftly apply large soft leaves to the wound.</p><p>Sombra watched the pilot’s handiwork, “how’d you learn that, <em>chica</em>?”</p><p>”Like you need to ask,” Hana glanced up, “I live- lived with <em>the</em> Mercy. You think she didn’t force first aid training on me the first chance she got?”</p><p>Sombra chuckled, “... how was it?”</p><p>”What, the first aid training?” Hana tightened the bandaged with some vine, “I mean it would’ve been better if she hadn’t breathed down my neck the whole time telling me what I was doing wrong.”</p><p>”Ha, the Mercy is a stickler for perfection, who would’ve guessed.” Sombra quipped.</p><p>Hana chuckled and shook her head, the look in her eyes distant, almost as if whisked away to a memory, a happy one at that as it pulled a wide smirk on her lips.</p><p>As Hana applied more leaves to the wound and wrapped it as tightly as she could, Sombra found her eyes wandering. Their conversation had slowed into a lull while Hana focused on not tearing through the leaves but still properly wrapping them, and Sombra failed to find a new conversation topic, her mind wandering off in a tired haze with no solid ideas to tie into words</p><p>The alcove was bigger than she thought it would be, both of them were just shy of being able to stand up straight under the ceiling of the cave, though the hacker was sure one of them will soon forget and bonk their head against the stone. Otherwise it was roomy, there would be about roughly enough space to fit five people comfortably. Though the biggest downside was that, as caves are, it was hidden away from the warm sun and left in cool darkness and it’d only get colder as the night progressed.</p><p>Distant animal calls were heard through the mouth of the cave, though the most notable noise was the sound of droplets of water slipping from the arch of the entrance and splashing against the rocks just outside. Luckily the water would serve as a natural camouflage during the rain to hide the entrance, the dirt ground around the mouth of the cave was also elevated, making most of the rain run deeper into the jungle’s roots and brush instead of into their natural shelter.</p><p>”Done,” Hana tied one last vine before leaning back and relaxing.</p><p>Sombra idly inspected the makeshift bandage. It wasn’t perfect, but much better than she expected as it was entirely made of leaves and vine. She found herself fascinated with Hana’s handiwork, carefully turning her arm to watch how neatly the vines were cut and tied. Then her stomach growled.</p><p>The hacker’s eyes widened as she hadn’t realized how hungry she had been, she placed a hand on her stomach now noticing how empty it felt.</p><p>Her head flicked up as she heard Hana laugh, “I guess we should look through those berries huh?”</p><p>Sombra felt a strange wave of embarrassment. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to, nor did she really understand why she felt that way, “I’ll check them.” She attempted to push off the ground but felt a surge of pain as she accidentally used the wrong arm.</p><p>Hana gently pushed her down after witnessing the hacker hiss in pain, “no, you need to rest, I’ll grab them.”</p><p>”I got a scratch on my arm, I didn’t lose a leg, <em>chica</em>.” Sombra tried to fight, but she felt too weak to overpower the pilot.</p><p>”It’s more like a gash,” Hana’s forehead crinkled as her brow furrowed, using her very own stern stare against Sombra, one that wasn’t quite as intimidating on the pilot’s youthful features, “and you’ve lost too much blood. Just sit down.”</p><p>Sombra averted her eyes, feigning the annoyance she should be feeling, “fine, <em>me quedo aqui</em>.”</p><p>”Good,” Hana moved away and moved to the other side of the alcove to gather the berries. As she did so Sombra couldn’t help but watch. Hana seemed so thin and weak, yet somehow was the one who was now taking care of Sombra.</p><p>”I got a lot, so it’ll take us a while.” Hana turned around, her eyes were down to keep the berries from falling out of her arms. Sombra found herself turning away as she did so, pretending like she had been staring at an empty corner of the cave.</p><p>”It’s not like we have anywhere to go.” Sombra shrugged, “especially not if you don’t let me get up.”</p><p>”Stop whining,” Hana pelted the hacker with a berry, “god, when I first met you I would have never guessed you were such a brat.”</p><p>Sombra scoffed as she grabbed some dirt, chucking it at the pilot, “I’m older than you, <em>chica</em>.”</p><p>Hana closed her eyes and recoiled before spitting out grains of dirt, “you can't seriously be saying that while throwing dirt at me like a kid.”</p><p>”Throwing dirt is a good way to disorient an enemy in hand to hand combat.” Sombra crossed her arms, fighting the urge to wince from the pain of brushing the bandaged limb.</p><p>Hana shook her head and scoffed back, “of course you would rely on a dirty trick like that.”</p><p>”It’s everyone for themselves out there, you can’t fight fair if you wanna live, <em>niña</em>.”</p><p>Hana paused for a moment, her soft brown eyes stared seemingly straight through Sombra’s own. Her eyebrowed were etched and she bit her lip, an strange somber expression the hacker couldn’t quite read. The pilot didn’t respond, she simply sat down and laid the berries on the floor between them. Sombra’s eyebrow rose as she entirely expected for their banter to continue. Maybe she said something she shouldn’t have.</p><p>Hana didn’t say anything for quite a while, minutes had passed as she shifted through berries aimlessly, forcing the hacker to join in and actually inspect them. In the process she flicked open her holograms and used infographics to find which were edible. Hana had quickly caught on without a word, also using the images and text to accurately inspect the berries.</p><p>While sifting through them Hana finally spoke, “it’s not everyone for themselves.” She muttered under her breath, “at least not all the time.”</p><p>Sombra paused, she stared at the single berry in her hand, one the infographic had informed her was poisonous, “it is for me.”</p><p>”It doesn’t have to be.” Sombra looked up to match Hana, the pilot’s words solemn but somehow hopeful.</p><p>”No,” Sombra returned to checking berries, anything to look at Hana’s pleading eyes, “people only want you for what you can do for them. People only want me to do their jobs for them, and then they don’t care what happens to me after, you saw that first hand.” She chucked a poisonous berry at one of the walls and watched as the red juice splattered against the rocks, “it even happened to you and your precious Overwatch. They wanted you to protect them and keep them safe, and the moment they thought you couldn’t do that they made you criminals, monsters even. <em>No les importa, solo quieren usarte</em>.”</p><p>Hana was quiet for another long while, her head was down as she stared at the berries they had separated into two groups, “you’re not wrong.” Sombra quirked an eyebrow at the girl, not an answer she was expecting, though as Hana looked up the hacker could tell she had more to say, “sure there are people out there who only care about what you can do for them,” she used both hands to push the poisonous berries off to the side before lifting one of the edible ones, “but not everyone is like that, there a lot of people out there who would care about you as a person, if you let them.” Hana then placed the vibrant vermillion berry in her hand.</p><p>From Hana’s haul the one in Sombra’s hand was the only red berry that wasn’t poisonous. She stared at it for a moment before closing her hand over it carefully, making sure not to squash it, “I haven’t met any of those people, at this point I’m not even sure they exist.”</p><p>The hacker was caught by surprise as she felt Hana’s soft fingers hooked onto her open hand, the same arm that had been bandaged with flora, “they do.”</p><p>Sombra stared at Hana’s hand in hers, the pilot’s normally milky white skin somehow complimenting the hacker’s tanned complexion. The hacker could still feel some of that anxiety from the back of her mind, that sooner or later the girl in front of her would just turn the instant she it was convenient. But something about how soft the pilot’s fingers were must have clouded Sombra’s mind, she had been alone for so long, something in her yearned for Hana’s words to be true.</p><p>She took a deep breath before pulling her arm away, she didn’t have the energy to look up and see Hana’s reaction, instead she crossed her arms, keeping to herself. She heard a quiet soft sigh, she bit her lip before blurting out, “Olivia.”</p><p>”Huh?” Sombra looked up to find Hana’s confused expression.</p><p>”You can call me Olivia, <em>es mi nombre</em>.” She brought the red berry to her mouth and began to chew it, it was overwhelmingly sweet inside her dry mouth, “it’s only fair, I know your name, you can know mine.”</p><p>Hana chuckled, “I don’t even think I can even actually pronounce it.” A mischievous glint sparked in her eye, “I’ll just call you Oli.”</p><p>”<em>Dios mio</em>... please don’t.” Olivia wanted to be annoyed, but she couldn’t help but smirk.</p><p>”Oli it is.” Hana said contently.</p><p>Olivia rolled her eyes, but as they began eating their supply of edible berries she found that the silence that followed was comfortable. Maybe even too comfortable as she soon found herself fighting a losing battle against sleep, her eyes heavy as they fluttered shut.</p><p>For as uncomfortable as the cave floor was with an injured arm, the hacker had fallen asleep with a smirk on her face.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Whiplash</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another chapter down! Trust is a steady thing, it has to be earned, and the road to earning someone's trust is tough and arduous, but many of us find it worth it, hopefully D.va and Sombra will too. Eitherway I'm hoping you all are enjoying the story, I'm still working my butt off to get these chapters out, but I have been taking breaks and letting myself get distracted. I'm still trying to get these out as quickly as possible, but staying cautious of burn out as I want to enjoy writing these as much as you all enjoy reading them. On that note, I'm glad many of you are finding my story enjoyable, it truly is an honor. Anyway, see you all next time!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A splash into an ancient sea, like a rock thrown into a long forgotten ocean. Hana sank quickly, the water pulling her down unforgivingly. The gentle moon light and cool night breeze rocketed away from her, a fleeting memory soon to be lost. Hana had the urge to fight, to thrash and push against the speeding current yanking her under, but something in her told her to wait, to stay calm. She had no clue what part of her was seemingly so bravely suicidal, but the idea seemed soothing.</p><p>She let the ocean take her, pull her deep into the dark abyss where no light found it’s way down, yet suddenly she could see again. She hadn’t moved, so she had never flipped to face away from the surface she was dropped from, but somehow daylight shone into the waters from behind her, from under her.</p><p>She remained still, waiting to see what she plummeted towards, what so deep in the dark waters could illuminate the darkness like a radiant star in the abyss of space. Another splash, yet this time out into the air, she could breathe again, she could hear again. She kept falling, the air resistance much weaker than the tides of the ocean that now hovered above her.</p><p>Her sky was ocean and her ocean was sky. The sea covered the space above her, expanding off in the horizon on the opposite axis that she was used to. Suddenly her view of the ocean was shrouded as she fell through clouds, wonderful white wisps covering the ocean above like an ocean. With each cloud she pierced her falling speed slowed until she was gently set on a field of lush vibrant green grass. Each blade softly tickling her skin while serving as a cushion that kept her feeling as light as a feather.</p><p>She couldn’t help but smile, she felt calm and relaxed, confused yet accepting of the world she had been jettisoned into. Then she heard a faint call, an alluring voice that begged for her attention. Her body wanted to stay relaxed, to remain rested amongst the soft grass blades, but she finally fought the soothing voice in her head. Something about distant call made her heart beat ever so slightly faster, and it would only speed up as the voice approached her.</p><p>”Hana…” The voice sounded so quiet yet she could feel wisps of gentle breath against her ear.</p><p>She tried to move, to look at who called for her, but her body was sluggish, too comfortable for her own good.</p><p>”Hana…” She tried to fight against the elastic bindings of lethargy, but she could only shift her body, slowly turning against the soft grass.</p><p>”What- who are-” Hana could barely speak, her tongue slow and clumsy.</p><p>She finally shifted far enough to peak behind her, only to find no one there, but she could feel them, they were so close to her that she felt their body heat radiating against her skin. She was confused for a moment, she blinked but found it hard to open her eyes. She finally willed her eyelids open, finding herself somewhere else entirely. A small stone alcove with a few beams of sunlight peeking through the foliage that covered the entrance, though she paused as she realized she was pressed up against someone.</p><p>Her eyes suddenly were met with vibrant violet ones, a sense of sharp wit yet distant sadness behind Olivia’s eyes. She blinked once more before her mind caught up to her, not only had she been sleeping next to Olivia, she had been severely <em>cuddling</em> her. Their legs had been intertwined, her arms tightly wrapped around the hacker’s waist while Olivia’s arm was gently pressed against the small of her back.</p><p>”Oh my god!” Hana’s cheeks burned furiously as she shoved Olivia away from her, scrambling to get their limbs untangled and so that she could get as far away as physically possible in the shortest amount of time. She pointed at Olivia with an accusatory finger, “what were you doing!?”</p><p>Olivia stood as she patted herself off, careful not to disturb the leave and vine bandage on her arm, “me? <em>Chica</em>, you were the one who snuggled up to me.” She smirked as she crossed her arms, snarkily perking an eyebrow, “I know I said we should keep close for warmth but that was all you.”</p><p>”Then why’d you just lay there and stare at me like a creep!” Hana crossed her arms and angrily pouted.</p><p>Olivia rolled her eyes as she walked over and offered a hand to help Hana stand, “trust me <em>chica</em>, I tried, but you wouldn’t let go.”</p><p>Hana glared up at the hacker indignantly, “whatever, let’s just forget it ever happened.” She reached up and took Olivia’s hand, letting her pull her onto her feet.</p><p>Something flashed in Olivia’s eyes, but Hana couldn’t quite catch it before the hacker shrugged and turned, “fine by me.” The pilot watched as Olivia stepped through the alcove entrance, holding some of the foliage away from her face, “c’mon, <em>chica</em>, we gotta keep moving if we wanna get out of this jungle.”</p><p>Hana huffed as she ran after the hacker, as she exited the cave she had to shield her eyes from the bright morning sun that peaked through the trees, “I just woke up! You could’ve given me some time to ready up.”</p><p>”No time,” Olivia peaked over her shoulder, “and what would you have done anyway? It’s not like we can freshen up with a shower and makeup.”</p><p>Hana finally caught up to Olivia, walking in pace with her, “that’s not what I meant! I still have to properly wake up.” The pilot raised a hand to rub one of her eyes, wiping some dirt crust from her eyelid, “eugh.”</p><p>Olivia scrunched her nose in a puzzled expression, “<em>Que</em>? You’re properly awake already, it’s not like you’re sleepwalking.”</p><p>”That’s not what I mean either,” Hana looked up to Olivia with a puzzled expression, “I’m like, still groggy. It’s called sleep inertia, I think.” The pilot couldn’t help but yawn, covering her mouth as she did so.</p><p>”Never heard of it.” The hacker responded flatly, she pushed a branch to the side, making sure to hold the branches away long enough for both of them to pass. Her eyes were also elsewhere, quickly scanning the environment as they talked.</p><p>”What do you mean you’ve never heard of it,” Hana brought her hands up, flabbergasted, “you have the whole internet at your fingertips.”</p><p>Olivia smirked, “spine actually,” she shrugged, “I don’t have the time to search every single piece of information there is. My job is actually to find very specific information as quickly as possible.”</p><p>”Still, you’re telling me that you don’t feel groggy at all when you wake up?” Hana shook her head, “I don’t believe it Oli.”</p><p>”Don’t call me that,” Olivia rolled her eyes, “what’s so unbelievable about it, <em>chica</em>? The only time I feel groggy is if I don’t have a good night’s rest.”</p><p>”Ugh, alright I get it now, you’re one of those morning people weirdos.” Hana slumped her shoulders defeated, at this point accepting that she won’t convince Olivia to give her some time to properly wake up.</p><p>The hacker looked over to Hana for a split second to raise an eyebrow, “I’m the weirdo? Do I have to mention the weird stuff you said in your sleep?”</p><p>Hana’s eyes widened, “you said you would forget about that!”</p><p>Olivia chuckled, “you never said anything about the sleeptalking.”</p><p>”I-” the pilot found Olivia’s hand over her mouth, stifling whatever thought she had as the hacker’s violet eyes quickly scanned their surroundings.</p><p>Olivia then turned to Hana and help up a finger to her mouth, “<em>perdóname chica,</em> but we’re attracting too much attention,” she whispered.</p><p>The pilot gave a simple nod as response. Once Olivia began moving again she followed closely behind, watching the hacker closely to mimic her foot placement.</p><p>After some time Hana found the silent rhythm to Olivia’s steps, as well as the pattern recognition of where to step. Olivia almost always prefered to step in soft dirt patches, avoiding foliage entirely, sturdy and healthy roots were almost as good but used with caution as stepping onto them too quickly would cause Hana’s footfall to make a low but audible thud. Any dead plant life was entirely avoided, Hana learned quickly that dead leaves and twigs made the most noticeable noise.</p><p>After a longer period of time Hana found herself settling into a ‘flow’. Much like when she piloted her MEKA, certain decisions that she had to make consciously before became an unconscious habit. She still had to be careful, she was getting better, but she could tell that she had a long way to go as Olivia somehow moved entirely silently and seemed to be slowing herself down so that Hana could keep up.</p><p>It made the pilot wonder what kind of life Olivia had to live to become so proficient in stealth, she had a strong inkling in her gut that this was a skill she had learned even before she started her job as a freelance hacker. The thought made Hana’s eyebrows knit together, if her inkling were true that meant that Olivia had been on her own for much longer than Hana initially thought.</p><p>Hana felt Oliva’s hand grab onto her arm, forcing her to stop moving and derailing her train of thought. The pilot perked an eyebrow at Olivia, trying to silently ask why they had stopped. The hacker turned back to look Hana in the eyes, the pilot watched Olivia visibly swallow as she raised a finger up to her mouth, as if they hadn’t already been quiet enough as is, but she also then gestured past some bushes with a head nod.</p><p>The pilot squinted her eyes, she couldn’t quite make out anything past the trees and leaves that hovered just over the bushes, so she approached, as slowly and as quietly as she could. Once close enough to be able to see past the greenery she realized why Olivia had seemed so nervous. Two Talon troopers were somehow stationed here in the middle of the jungle, if it were only two it would have been no problem, but they had no idea how many were out there, either standing watch or actively searching for them.</p><p>Hana found herself also swallowing a lump in her throat. Of course they would have units stationed, even if they hadn’t escaped, Talon still had to keep prying eyes away from their hidden base. The pilot turned to Olivia, a nervous look on her face as she silently asked the hacker what to do with a pleading look in her eyes.</p><p>Olivia’s brow knit in thought, she brought a hand up to her chin as she began forming a plan. Suddenly her eyes lit up with an idea as she quietly approached Hana. Once close enough she leaned into Hana’s ear to whisper, “follow my lead.”</p><p>Hana shot the hacker a confused and indignant look, though she quickly realized that in their current scenario Olivia was withholding information not because she didn’t want to, but because it would be dangerous to spend any more time than necessary. So the pilot took a deep breath and steeled herself before nodding.</p><p>Olivia raised an arm to begin a countdown on her fingers, and as each finger lowered Hana felt anxiety bubble up in her stomach, she focused on her breathing as letting herself think about what could go wrong would slow her down. As the countdown hit zero and Olivia dashed out of the brush, Hana right by her side.</p><p>In a matter of seconds they both had dashed out from their bush, closed the small distance between themselves and the Talon troops as dirt kicked up into the air. Olivia had timed their attack just as the troops had their backs turned, letting the hacker pull one into a chokehold. Hana on the other hand decided to use what had already worked and leapt onto the other lackey’s back, using her weight to knock him off his feet.</p><p>Just as Olivia’s target began to lose consciousness, flailing his limbs in vain and kicking up even more dirt, Hana found herself having to resort to blunt force. She didn’t have training in how to properly knock out enemies, she’d seen Olivia and Jack do it but she wasn’t like them, so she just began wailing on the trooper’s head, one punch would eventually knock him out.</p><p>As she tried to continuously slam her fists into the man’s helmet, memories of her previous attacks flashed through her head, the bruised and unrecognizable face of the last Talon pawn she battered, and the monster’s arm. For a moment there was a drop in strength behind Hana’s fists. The Talon lackey took the opportunity to push off the ground with enough force to throw Hana off his back, the dust cloud their struggles had made began to obscure Hana’s line of sight to Olivia. The trooper reached for his sidearm, unholstering it and pointing it squarely at the pilot. Her eyes widened, maybe she hadn’t punched hard enough, but- she just didn’t want to draw anymore blood.</p><p>Hana was frozen as her eyes met the wrong end of a barrel, it hadn’t been the first, but it seemed to be her last. Then from out of the dirt cloud pounced Oliva, she tackled the man just as he was about to fire, his bullet was sent careening off into the trees, just shy of Hana. In the blink of an eye Olivia had the trooper pressed face down into the floor, one of his arms pulled back while his wrist was aggressively twisted, forcing him to drop his pistol.</p><p>”What was that!?” Olivia shouted as she turned to Hana with furious yet confused eyes.</p><p>The pilot was baffled, “what was what?”</p><p>The hacker gave Hana a furious look, “don’t <em>ever</em> hesitate.”</p><p>Both girls were caught off guard as the Talon trooper let out a bark of laughter, “trouble in paradise?”</p><p>Olivia tightened her grip, making him groan in pain, “who said you could talk?” She snarled.</p><p>The talon guard tried to chuckle but was cut off as he was lifted by his neck just high enough to be slammed back down into the dirt, “gh- fucking bitch!” He growled through his hacking cough, “just fucking kill me already.”</p><p>Olivia let out a low deep chuckle, one that caught Hana by surprise, “you would like that wouldn’t you, <em>chico</em>?” She shifted her weight, yet still kept her grip, elegantly standing up while pulling the lackey to his feet, her grip on him still painfully fierce. She turned her head to look over to Hana, “get up <em>chica</em>, and get the pistol.”</p><p>Hana blinked as she slowly processed the change in Olivia’s character. Sure, Hana knew what kind of person Olivia had to be in her line of work, but the shift from Oli to Sombra gave her mental whiplash. She swallowed as she got up like Sombra had asked, she numbly picked up the pistol, handling it carefully and keeping the barrel pointed toward the ground like Jack and Jesse had taught her.</p><p>”Good, now <em>chica</em>, the guy I left unconscious,” Sombra’s violet eyes caught Hana’s, their usual vibrant color now somehow dark, “shoot him.”</p><p>”What!?” Hana glanced to the unconscious body that Sombra had left laying face down in the dirt, “why?”</p><p>Sombra perked an eyebrow, somehow confused by Hana’s reluctance, “because if we leave him alive, he’ll become a problem. Trust me, <em>chica</em> they deserve it.”</p><p>Hana shook her head, “and that’s for us to decide? Who gave either of us the right?”</p><p>The Talon lackey burst out in sardonic laughter, “dumb bitch doesn’t get she’s in the middle of a war.”</p><p>Sombra’s eyes flared with anger, a sudden wide smirk on her lips, “I’m sorry, but you’ve seemed to misunderstand your position, <em>chico</em>.” She kicked the back of his calves, bringing him down to his knees, “just because I let you off easy didn’t mean you could talk.” In a flash she stepped back to bring a swift kick to his temple, knocking him out cold.</p><p>Sombra then turned to Hana and stomped over, all the pilot could do was flinch as the hacker snatched the pistol from her hand. Hana blinked in surprise before quickly becoming annoyed, “hey!”</p><p>Sombra stared the pilot down, “you almost got yourself killed,” she stepped closer and planted a finger squarely on Hana’s shoulder, “you were this close to getting shot, <em>chica</em>, and yet you still won’t do what has to be done?” She shook her head, angry but confused, “<em>No te entiendo</em>, you somehow rip that- that thing apart yesterday, and now you can’t even shoot one enemy?”</p><p>”I-it’s different, I didn’t mean to-” Hana tried to interject.</p><p>”You didn’t mean to kill him?” Sombra shook her head, exasperated, “<em>chica</em> you tore that thing apart, you can’t tell me it was on accident!”</p><p>”Just- just shut up!” Hana finally cracked, she felt a hot tear stream down her cheek, the sight of which made Sombra falter, “I know what I did! I did it because I had no fucking choice, it was going to kill you and- and-”</p><p>Olivia’s shoulders slumped and her eyebrows knit together, she sighed and hit her palm against forehead, “<em>como puedes a ser tan tonta</em>,” she muttered to herself before holstering the pistol into the band of her pants, “listen <em>chica</em>, calm down.”</p><p>Hana couldn’t stop the tears, but that sure didn’t stop her for being her usual fiery self, “what, am I too emotional for you now? Am <em>I</em> becoming too much of a problem!?”</p><p>Olivia had not clue what to do it seemed, as she stared at Hana apprehensively, having had little no experience with <em>feelings</em>, “no, no I never said-”</p><p>”Said what huh? That I’m a liability? Cause you sure are acting like I am, maybe put a bullet in my skull while you’re at it too, now that you have the means!” Hana couldn’t stop herself, the words just poured out of her mouth like the tears that poured from her eyes.</p><p>Olivia’s eyes widened with horror, “no, <em>chica</em> I wouldn’t-”</p><p>”Wouldn’t shoot me? Are you so sure? What happens when I get in your way huh, will you just ‘do what needs to be done’?” Hana her breathing became erratic, she was lashing out because something primal inside of her was clawing her from the inside, she felt another panic attack coming, something she was surprised hadn’t happened until now.</p><p>Suddenly she felt Olivia’s arms pull her into a hug, an incredibly stiff one at that. Olivia’s arms were awkward and seemed to just hover around her rather than actually embracing her, but it got her to stop yelling. She couldn’t break down now, not here, so she did her best to slow her breathing, finding that Olivia’s breathes were the perfect rhythm to follow.</p><p>”Listen <em>chica, lo siento</em>, I’m sorry.” Olivia’s voice was softer, in stark contrast to how angry her tone was earlier, “you’re not a liability, I’m not going to hurt you.”</p><p>”Why not?” Hana asked, entirely earnest in her question, “what’s different from me and the millions of other targets you get rid of.”</p><p>”You’re not- you’re-...” Olivia struggled to find the words, “you’re not like them.”</p><p>”How?” Hana muttered, fighting back the panic in her gut and the urge to cry like an overgrown child, “y-you saw what I did, like you said, I r-ripped that thing apart, it’s not any different from what they did to me.”</p><p>”No!” Olivia’s voice was suddenly assertive again, but it felt different, her tone wasn’t aggressive, “no, you’re nothing like them. <em>Chica</em>, the fact that you’re this torn up about it proves my point.”</p><p>Hana remained quiet, she had no idea how to respond to that, but still wasn’t convinced.</p><p>And apparently Olivia knew because she continued, “<em>Chi-</em> Hana, you’re different because even though you’ve had to do this stuff you still don’t lose sight of who you are what you stand for.” The hacker pulled away, still as stiff as ever, she placed her hands on Hana’s shoulders as their eyes met, “listen, I can’t really give you the long version right now, but you’re crying right now over a guy who was one of your torturers, I’m not even going to bring up how fucked up that is.”</p><p>Hana found herself giggling despite herself, but spoke up, “that’s not-”</p><p>”<em>Chica</em>,” Olivia smirked, “it’s pretty fucked up”</p><p>The pilot fought the urge to laugh, but couldn’t keep the smirk off her lips as she punched Olivia in the shoulder, “shut up, that wasn’t what I was going to say.”</p><p>”Well,” Oliva took a step back and looked over her shoulder to glance at the unconscious men behind her, “could you hold onto that thought?”</p><p>Hana took a shaky breath and nodded. She did her best to pull herself together as she glanced at both Talon troopers, “are you…?”</p><p>Olivia raised an eyebrow, “going to shoot them?” She shrugged and sighed, “as much as I would love to get rid of them, I actually have a better idea.”</p><p>The pilot let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, “alright, what’s your plan?”</p><p>The hacker stepped forward to the second trooper she had knocked unconscious, “grab whatever weapon the other had on him and then come over here to help me carry this one.”</p><p>Hana gave another curt nod before making her way over to the unconscious body. She quickly searched him like Lena of all people taught her how. She mentioned she hadn’t been careful plenty of times and found that many Talon troopers would pretend to be unconscious only to detonate an explosive as they were being searched. Lena fortunately had her chronal accelerator, but Hana had no way to reverse her own time under similar circumstances.</p><p>Luckily the guy was still out cold and only seemed to have a similar pistol on his person and a combat knife. She retrieved them and checked the safety of the firearm before holstering it much like Olivia had. She quickly returned to the hacker just as she was pulling the trooper up, his unconscious body clearly heavy as she even struggled to pull him as his feet dragged against the floor. Hana wordlessly lifted the man’s legs, she let out a soft grunt as even with Olivia’s help the man was still quite heavy, or maybe she was a little weaker than she remembered being</p><p>”Alright, <em>chica</em>, I know this might see a little counterintuitive but we’re gonna have to head to the cave again, <em>y muy rapido</em> because who knows when he’ll wake back up.”</p><p>”Right,” Hana huffed as she got a better grip of the unconscious trooper’s legs, “lead the way.”</p><p> </p><p>ㅠ.ㅠ</p><p> </p><p>The trek back to their alcove went by faster than Hana thought it would, though they had forgoed stealth to get back as quickly as possible. Once there Olivia tasked Hana with finding the same vines she had used for the hacker’s bandage. They had tied the trooper’s wrists and ankles, keeping him from being able to escape, at least for a short while…</p><p>”I don’t get it Oli,” Hana had her arms crossed as she gave the hacker an inquisitive glare, “why’d you tell me to leave his knife on him? You can’t be stupid enough to think he won’t use it to cut himself free.”</p><p>Olivia smirked as she turned to Hana and gave her a wink, “it’s all part of the plan, <em>chica<em>, don’t you worry.”</em></em></p><p>”Then just tell me the plan.” The pilot shook her head, “I don’t get why you gotta keep it all to yourself all the time.”</p><p>Hana was cut off once again as the trooper they had let lean against the wall of the cave began to regain consciousness. The pilot was beginning to think that Olivia had somehow orchestrated everything to keep Hana from asking her question, though she’s not one to give up so easily.</p><p>”Eugh-” the trooper groaned as his eyes flickered open. “Oh fuck me.”</p><p>Olivia smirked, “not even in your wildest dreams, <em>chico</em>.” She unholstered her pistol and stepped closer to the man, “but I got another proposition for you.”</p><p>The trooper angrily stared back at Olivia, “I’m not giving you shit.”</p><p>”Oooh,” Olivia chuckled, “a feisty one huh? That’s fine, you’ll find you’ll give me the info I need one way or another.”</p><p>”I’d rather die.” The trooper growled.</p><p>Olivia placed the barrel of her gun against the trooper’s temple, “I can arrange that.”</p><p>”Sombra!” Olivia peaked over her shoulder to see Hana, her eyes angry yet apprehensive.</p><p>Olivia groaned as she stood, in the process nudging the gun against the trooper’s head a little too hard, “what’s your problem?”</p><p>”My problem!?” Hana was bewildered, confused and indignant, “we talked about this!”</p><p>The hacker sighed as she glanced down to the trooper, who despite glaring daggers had said nothing, “come with me <em>chica</em>,” made her way to the entrance of the cave, bumping shoulders with Hana in the process, “we need to talk.”</p><p>Hana watched the hacker leave, then turned to see that the trooper was still silent, so she then ran after Olivia. Once outside of the cave she looked around the immediate vicinity, searching for where the hacker had disappeared off to.</p><p>”Over here.” Olivia whisper had alerted Hana to where she was hiding behind a thick layer of greenery, “come here,” she beckoned with her hand.</p><p>Hana was still confused but relinquished her anger, stepping behind the foliage with Olivia, keeping low to not be seen, yet she still had her questions, “what are you doing?”</p><p>”Shh” The hacker had the audacity to shush her! Oliva then pointed toward the entrance of the alcove, “just watch.”</p><p>Hana let out an exasperated scoff, but she listened and sat still to watch the cave entrance. Eventually the Talon trooper appeared, his combat knife in hand, he had evidently cut himself free just like Hana had said. “Dumb bitches,” was all he muttered as he checked his immediate surroundings, completely unaware of the duo watching him from the shadows.</p><p>Hana shifted, getting ready to pounce him again, only for Olivia to grab her shoulder. The pilot turned to Olivia with a confused look, only for the hacker to give her a stubborn look. Hana silently sighed as she settled back down. Eventually once confident enough the trooper looked up at the greenery, checked something on his arm before making his way into the jungle.</p><p>Once he was far enough away, Olivia stood and stepped out from the greenery, Hana not too far behind as they started another trek through the rainforest, “what was that?” Hana asked, “I thought you said they would be too much of a problem, and now you’re just letting them go?”</p><p>Olivia rolled her eyes, “you said you didn’t want to kill them,” she turned to Hana and shrugged, “so we didn’t.”</p><p>”Still, what was the point of that?” Hana pointed toward the direction the trooper had fled, which evidently was the opposite direction that they were no headed.</p><p>”<em>Chica</em>, I know you’re not that stupid.” Olivia answered dismissively as she pushed a branch out of her way.</p><p>The pilot’s eyebrows knit together angrily, but then something had occurred to her. If Olivia wanted Hana to leave the knife that meant she planned for him to break free, <em>but what good would that do?</em> Then the epiphany hit Hana, she let out an exasperated and defeated sigh, “you knew he would run back to the closest Talon outpost, so that’s why we’re going the opposite direction."</p><p>”<em>Correctamundo, chica</em>.” Olivia flashed a smirk, “proud of you Hana.”</p><p>”Don’t patronize me,” Hana snipped back, “you could’ve just told me, it would’ve made the whole process a lot easier.</p><p>Olivia gave another nonchalant shrug, “it worked didn’t it?”</p><p>”No,” Hana responded stubbornly.</p><p>Olivia turned to examine Hana, “excuse me?”</p><p>”Maybe it worked,” the pilot stepped closer to Olivia and pressed a finger into her shoulder, “but I’m done not being in on your plans. I get you’ve been doing the whole edgy one woman against the world, but like it or not we’re stuck with each other, at least until we can get out of here.”</p><p>Olivia scoffed, but Hana’s determined stubborn stare eventually made her relinquish, “alright, fine fine. Next time <em>te digo</em>, I’ll tell you, alright? Just, just stop looking at me like that.” The hacker pushed Hana’s finger away.</p><p>Hana smirked and breathed in, a little relieved, “you better.”</p><p>”Whatever.” Olivia muttered as they started moving forward once again.</p><p>As silence fell between them Olivia naturally became more stealthy, Hana took the opportunity to get in some stealth practice herself as they almost silently made their way through the rain forest. As the sun started to approach the horizon a foggy mist began to roll through the brush, it made seeing through the trees a little harder but not too difficult, at least that was what Hana thought before Olivia abruptly stopped and grabbed Hana’s arm.</p><p>”Hey,” Hana whispered, annoyed that her focus had been broken, “why are we stopping?”</p><p>”Look.” Olivia pointed forward with her free hand past the immediate trees and brush.”</p><p>Hana quirked an eyebrow before looking ahead, squinting her eyes to see past the fog. Suddenly it clicked in her brain what she was looking at. They were on higher ground looking down at a valley, “woah…” Hana cooed in amazement as she carefully stepped forward.</p><p>She got closer to the surprisingly sheer cliff she found herself on, directly ahead of them was a steep hill covered in trees and mist, below them was even more forest, but also a small clearing with a tranquil lake. Hana then spotted the animals that had gathered in the clearing, small family of bears, though they seemed to have a weird pattern above their muzzles, across their eyes.</p><p>”Nice find, <em>chica</em>.” Olivia said, Hana just now realizing that the hacker had approached her and stood next to her on the cliff, “just exactly what we were looking for.”</p><p>Hana blinked, then smiled, “spectacled bears!”</p><p>”Precisely,” Olivia flicked her wrist out to call forth her holograms, pulling up a map, “which puts us in the South American rainforests.” She then stepped closer to Hana to point onto the map in which the species normally inhabits.</p><p>Hana felt the hacker’s arm brush against hers, a sensation that caught her off guard, but otherwise didn’t care too much to think about, they finally knew where they were. “Where to now?” She turned to Olivia, finding that her violet eyes were very close.</p><p>Olivia glanced over to Hana, her expression strange, but clearly overjoyed. She then turned to her map and pointed to a red dot on the northern end of the continent, “to Venezuela.”</p><p>Hana smirked, “to Venezuela!”</p><p>The hacker visibly cringed, “alright we’re gonna have to work on your pronunciation.”</p><p>The pilot rolled her eyes, “whatever, let’s just get moving. I can’t wait to get out of this awful jungle.”</p><p>Olivia let out a steady breath, “me too <em>chica</em>, me too.”</p>
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